of the Super Eagles with a cash reward of N5m each for the 23 players, and N10m
for coach Stephen Okechukwu Keshi while his assistants – Daniel Amokachi,
Sylvanus Okpala and Ike Shorunmu got N5m each, even as other officials of the
team got N2m each.
The President did not stop at
that as he also rewarded them with a plot of land each in the Federal Capital,
Abuja and crowned it with national awards of Commander of the Order of the
Niger (CON) for Keshi; Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) for captain of the
side Joseph Yobo; and the three assistant coaches, while the other players were
awarded Member of the Order of the Niger (MON).
A very elated President Jonathan while assuring
Keshi of his support as the national team coach said that the task of taking
Nigeria to the World Cup 2014 is one that must be achieved. “I want to thank
the Super Eagles for their efforts and winning the trophy after 19 years of
waiting. In fact, the win in South Africa is the biggest gift of Nigeria’s
centenary celebration. I can assure Keshi that he has my full support as coach
of the Super Eagles but he should understand that the task has just begun
because the next target is the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. We must qualify for
Brazil.”
President Jonathan recalled that many Nigerians had
the impression that our football is dead but that their resilience has made
things different and that he was glad that Nigerians in spite of their
differences stood as one to support the green white green, insisting that the
transformation agenda is beginning to yield dividends. Meanwhile, a proud
sports minister and chairman, National Sports Commission, Mallam Bolaji
Abdullahi has attributed the victory of the Super Eagles in South Africa to the
transformation agenda of the President Goodluck Jonathan for sports in Nigeria.
He noted that under three months of the presidential
retreat on sports, the dividends are beginning to show and appealed to all to
set acrimony and hatred aside for the growth of Nigerian sports. “The victory
of the Super Eagles in South Africa is a collective effort by all and it goes
to show that if we put our efforts together, we can achieve our goals.
At this juncture, I wish to appeal to all to set
aside acrimony and stop creating crisis where there is none for us to forge
ahead because there is no need to create crisis where there is none.” He also
noted that with six players from the domestic league being part of the Nations
Cup, more players are bound to emerge to make the domestic league more
attractive.
Nigeria Football Federation, NFF president, Alhaji
Aminu Maigari while thanking President Jonathan for the support he gave the
players, said the federation is working towards improving football noting that
the significance of the victory is that 17 out of the 23 players were playing
the Nations Cup for the first time. “We’re in the process of rebuilding the
Super Eagles and we’re glad that our football is making progress.
I must say that the tele conference of Mr.
President to the players was a big boost that propelled the team to victory.
Earlier, the special reception for the Super Eagles had dance troops that
entertained the guests.
Source: Sun
