The Federal Government has increased the winning bonus of super eagles
by $5,000 as a means of motivating them to win their remaining two group
matches at the ongoing FIFA World Cup in Russia.
With this
increase, each player will now get $15,000 winning bonus per game
against initial $10,000 per game agreed with the players before the
tournament kicked off in Russia on Thursday.
The increase in Bonus comes after their loss to Croatia in the first leg of their matches last Saturday.
The
Super Eagles will play their next two group games against Iceland and
Argentina. Nigeria will play Iceland who drew 1-1 with Argentina on
Saturday June 22 before playing Argentina in their last group game on
June 26.
Making the increase in the winning bonus known, the Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung said:
“It
is unfortunate that we did not win, which would have served as a morale
booster at the group stage, but we will not lose hope. The Federal
Government is doing its best to ensure that the Super Eagles excel in
Russia. Even President Muhammadu Buhari took time out to motivate the
players yesterday and to assure them of his unflinching support for the
team. I personally added $5,000 to their winning bonus to motivate the
team, but we must still keep our hopes alive because this is just the
beginning. I urge the players to remain focused while the technical
department will have to put heads together with the coach to salvage our
next two matches against Iceland and Argentina. If we win our next
matches against Iceland and Argentina, then we can qualify from the
group.”
He called on Nigerians to continue to support the team.
“The
Super Eagles are a work in progress. It’s a very young team and we are
nurturing them for greater exploits, not only for now but also for the
future. We are not giving any excuses but we must continue to rally
round our team, irrespective of the result recorded on Saturday. I
appeal to Nigerians to rally behind the team and pray for them ahead of
their next game against Iceland. I strongly believe that despite the
disappointing start, the Super Eagles will come out strong from the
group,” he said.
