Sports
Tinubu, Govs Splash ₦4.95 Billion Cash, Houses On Falcons
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday showered the victorious Super Falcons with ₦4.952 billion in cash rewards and conferred on them the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) following their record-breaking 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) triumph in Morocco.
The 24 players and 11 technical crew members arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Monday before proceeding to the Presidential Villa for an elaborate reception.
Nigeria staged a thrilling comeback from 2-0 down to defeat hosts Morocco 3-2 in Saturday’s final at the Rabat Olympic Stadium, cementing their dominance in African women’s football.
During the reception, President Tinubu announced ₦4.602 billion in cash awards, a three-bedroom apartment each, and national honours for every member of the victorious squad.
Tinubu declared. “Nothing else could have represented it. Crucial time, crucial victory. On behalf of the grateful nation, I hereby confer on the players and the 11-man technical team the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger.
“Additionally, I direct the allocation of a three-bedroom apartment for each player and technical crew in our Renewed Hope Estate. There is a cash award of $100,000 (₦1,560/$) for each of the 24 players and $50,000 for each of the 11-man technical crew. With this, the Nigerian spirit is unyielding and will never die.”
The Nigerian Governors’ Forum also contributed ₦350 million, bringing the total cash reward to ₦4.952 billion.
The Falcons dominated the tournament:
Group Stage: Topped their group with seven points, conceding no goals.
Quarter-Finals: Thrashed Zambia 5-0.
Semi-Finals: A late Michelle Alozie strike sealed a 2-1 win over South Africa.
Final: Came from behind to stun Morocco 3-2 in Rabat, inspired by Esther Okoronkwo’s heroics.
Captain Rasheedat Ajibade won the Player of the Tournament award, Chiamaka Nnadozie was named Best Goalkeeper, and coach Justine Madugu clinched the Best Coach Award.
This latest triumph adds to Nigeria’s previous WAFCON titles in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2016, and 2018, reaffirming the country’s status as the undisputed queens of African football.
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Luis Diaz said former Liverpool teammate Florian Wirtz told him he would “enjoy” a move to Bayern Munich as the Colombian was unveiled by the Bundesliga champions on Thursday.
The German giants reportedly paid a fee which could rise to 75 million euros ($86.5 million) for the 28-year-old, whose deal runs until 2029.
Heavily linked with a move to Bayern, Wirtz left Bayer Leverkusen and signed with the Reds in June.
Diaz only had a few weeks with the German international at Liverpool but revealed Wirtz’s advice encouraged him to move to the Bundesliga.
“I spoke to Florian a few times and he told me that the Bundesliga is very intense, similar to the Premier League, that it was very physical, the stadiums are always full,” Diaz said Thursday.
“He said that I’d enjoy it. He wished me luck. I thank him for that”.
Diaz arrives as the third most expensive signing in Bayern’s history, but said he was unconcerned about the pressure the price tag would bring.
“I can’t say if I’m worth 70 million. I just want to settle in here as quickly as possible. That’s the most important thing,” he said.
The only two bigger transfer fees paid by Bayern were 95 million euros for England captain Harry Kane in 2023 and 80 million for French international Lucas Hernandez in 2019.
Diaz won the Premier League, FA Cup and two League Cups during his three-and-a-half years at Anfield.
The winger made 50 appearances in all competitions for Liverpool last season, scoring 17 goals and providing eight assists as Arne Slot’s team clinched the English league title for a record-equalling 20th time.
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FC Barcelona, on Thursday, produced a dominant attacking display to defeat FC Seoul 7–3 in an action-packed pre-season friendly.
The Spanish giants wasted no time asserting their superiority, with Robert Lewandowski opening the scoring in the 8th minute.
Rising star Lamine Yamal quickly followed up with goals in the 14th and 45+3 minutes, the latter coming just moments after Al-Arab had equalised for the hosts on the stroke of half-time.
Earlier, FC Seoul had found the net through Young-Wook in the 26th minute to briefly level the tie before Barcelona pulled away decisively.
Andreas Christensen added a fourth goal for the Catalan side in the 55th minute, setting the tone for a flurry of late strikes.
Ferran Torres and Gavi added goals in the 74th and 76th minutes respectively, before Torres sealed his brace with a second goal in the 88th minute.
FC Seoul’s Han-Min grabbed a consolation in the 85th minute, but it did little to take the shine off Barcelona’s commanding performance.
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Morocco said the manner of their switch of nationality is faulty, citing some irregularities in their claims to be Nigerians.
A petition against Nigeria has been filed by Morocco.
Morocco filed the petition before CAF as it questions the eligibility of two players who played for the women’s team of Nigeria in the final of the WAFCON, which Nigeria won 3-2 on Saturday.
It was gathered that before the game, there was a protest lodged by Morocco on the eligibility of two of the Nigerian players in Ashleigh Plumptre and Michelle Alozie.
Both players were born outside Nigeria but made the decision to play for Nigeria at senior level.
In their protest, Morocco said the manner of their switch of nationality is faulty citing some irregularities in their claims to be Nigerians.
They expressly want Nigeria to lose the title by virtue of fielding both players in the tournament.
Plumptre was granted approval by FIFA to play for Nigeria in 2021 after it was established that her paternal grandfather is a Nigerian. Alozie’s case is more straightforward as she was born in the USA to immigrant parents from Nigeria.
Nigeria are however not losing sleep over the protest with a top member of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) terming it as dead on arrival.
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