January 21, (THEWILL) – The players and officials of Nigeria’s senior men’s national football team, the Super Eagles, have been given added motivation to aim for a fourth African Cup of Nations trophy in Cameroon.
Although it may be early days, the nature of their spectacular qualifiers through the first stage of the continental competition have seen the team being promised large sums of money and even land in desirable locations to incentivise them to victory.
The Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, in a video message to the Super Eagles in Garoua on Thursday, said the national team will receive the Naira equivalent of $50,000 for every goal scored in every match won in the AFCON knockout round.
Emefiele declared that he was delivering the message on behalf of the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID), a group of major private-sector stakeholders.
The body was established to assist the government in combatting the coronavirus pandemic, but Emefiele stated that given the delight the Super Eagles are bringing Nigerians with their AFCON performance, it was thought that it would be beneficial to further motivate the team.
Informing the national team of the windfall awaiting their victory, Emefiele delivered the goodwill of the group and their promises to the Super Eagles saying: “CACOVID is very happy with your performance in the preliminaries. That is why Aliko (Dangote) and other members said I should be here to deliver the good message to you all.
“We are very proud of you and we want to continue doing that. I’m sure one or two members of the Presidential delegation will also be here and you will receive more rewards.
“Femi Otedola himself told me that he has an equivalent of $250,000.00 in the bank if you lift the trophy. I also heard Allen (Onyema) was here and he has also promised the sum of N50,000,000 if you win the tournament.
“Now, all you need is to remain focused and make the country proud. Football plays a greater role in unifying the country. So, we’ll continue to give you our support in order to ensure you emerge victorious.”
Similarly, RevolutionPlus Property, the NFF’s official real estate partner, said that if the Super Eagles win the current AFCON title, the squad will receive free parcels of land in various areas within its estates.
The parcels would be accessible in certain locations in Lagos, Abuja FCT, Nasarawa, Abeokuta, Shimawa, and Mowe in Ogun State, Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, and Port Harcourt, Rivers State, according to Bamidele Onalaja, the company’s Group Managing Director/CEO.
“Now that the Super Eagles have qualified for the knockout stages of AFCON, RevolutionPlus Group will pay N1m for each goal scored by the team at every knockout stage of the competition,” Onalaja said.
Onalaja also restated his previous offer of N4 million to the team during the World Cup qualifiers, urging them to bring Nigeria back to AFCON reckoning once more.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
