The newly crowned FIFA U-17 World Champions, Golden Eaglets have been rewarded for their outstanding outing at the tournament with the sum of N20,000 (Twenty Thousand Naira) each.
According to Nigerian Pilot, the players are yet to recover from the shock after the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF handed them a paltry N20,000 each as a reward from the Government before they dispersed in Abuja last Thursday.
“It’s surely not the best way to treat heroes. The money they gave us could not even fetch us flight tickets to take us home to see our loved ones,’’ said one of the players who did not want his name in print for fear of victimisation by officials of the football federation.
Another player said on phone: “I’ve heard about how badly players have been treated in the past. I didn’t think ours would come so soon. I am still, however, grateful to God we came home with the trophy. The victory has opened new doors of opportunity which we are already exploring,’’ said the player who is on verge of sealing a lucrative professional contract with an English Premier League club.
Players and officials of the U-17 National Team returned to the country last Wednesday, following a successful campaign at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile.
They were driven round parts of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory in a motorcade before the convoy arrived at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel. The new Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr. Solomon Dalong, later had dinner with the team at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel.
