ABUJA, Nigeria – Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, have received a $50,000 cash reward following their reported historic triumph at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, where they defeated Japan 2-1 to become the first African country to win the competition.
The players received the reward during a reception hosted in their honour in Rabat, Morocco, on Saturday night by the Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Shehu Dikko, and its Director-General, Bukola Olopade. The event was attended by the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adewale Adeniyi, and NSC sponsor Saleh Ahmadu, who presented the cash gift in recognition of the team’s performance.
The reward followed the Flamingos’ 2-1 victory over Japan, the 2014 champions, in the final of the tournament. The NSC also said it had facilitated the payment of outstanding bonuses owed to the players and officials for their participation from the preliminary qualifying rounds through to the final.
The payments followed a directive from President Bola Tinubu, according to the commission. Meanwhile, the Acting General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Emmanuel Ikpeme, dedicated the victory to the President, expressing appreciation for the support given to the national teams.
The reported victory gives Nigeria a distinction as the only African country to have won the FIFA U-17 World Cup in both the men’s and women’s categories. The country’s male team, the Golden Eaglets, have won the men’s competition five times, in 1985, 1993, 2007, 2013 and 2015. The achievement is expected to further strengthen the profile of women’s football in Nigeria, while drawing attention to the support, development pathways and investment needed to sustain success at youth level.
Join the conversation