Billionaire industrialist and Chairman of BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu, on Thursday announced that he will fulfil his $500,000 pledge to the Super Eagles despite the team’s failure to clinch the Africa Cup of Nations title.

Rabiu disclosed this in a message shared on his official Instagram page, where he applauded the Nigerian team for their resilience, courage and fighting spirit throughout the tournament.

He praised the players for giving their all on the pitch, noting that although the desired outcome was not achieved, they had made Nigerians proud with their performance.

“You fought with your hearts, gave your all, and showed true courage and determination on the pitch. Though it wasn’t meant to be this time, you have made every Nigerian proud,” Rabiu wrote.

Reflecting further, the business mogul noted that outcomes do not always reflect effort, stressing that the spirit, passion and unity displayed by the team were what truly mattered.

“Sometimes, even our best efforts don’t bring the outcome we hope for, but the spirit, passion and unity you displayed are what truly matter.

You left everything on the field, and that is worthy of celebration,” he added.

As a token of appreciation, Rabiu confirmed that he would still honour the $500,000 reward earlier promised to the team, describing it as recognition of their hard work, dedication and the joy they brought to Nigerians during the tournament.

PUNCH Online reported earlier that Rabiu had pledged the cash reward to the Super Eagles ahead of the tournament as part of efforts to motivate the team in their quest for continental glory.

The Super Eagles impressed many Nigerians with their run to the latter stages of the competition but ultimately fell short of lifting the trophy after losing at the semi-finals to Morocco.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles on Wednesday lost 4–2 in a penalty shootout to host nation Morocco at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after a tense 0–0 draw at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

Rabiu encouraged the players to keep their heads high, expressing confidence that the lessons and experience gained would fuel greater success in future competitions.

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Nigeria’s Super Eagles saw their remarkable Africa Cup of Nations scoring run come to an end after being held to a goalless draw by hosts Morocco at the 2025 tournament, before suffering a 4-2 defeat in a penalty shoot-out, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The stalemate marked the first time Nigeria had failed to score at AFCON since their round of 16 exit against Tunisia in 2021, bringing to a close a sequence of 12 consecutive matches in which they had found the net at the continent’s biggest football event.

The last time the Super Eagles were blanked at AFCON was in Garoua, Cameroon, when Youssef Msakni’s goal secured a 1-0 victory for Tunisia in January 2021.

Since then, Nigeria had embarked on their longest scoring streak in the history of their AFCON participation, scoring consistently across two tournaments and establishing a reputation for efficiency and variety in attack.

The run began at the 2023 finals with a 1-1 group-stage draw against Equatorial Guinea, where Victor Osimhen scored Nigeria’s opener, and continued with a 1-0 win over Ivory Coast, sealed by William Troost-Ekong’s penalty.

An own goal from Opa Sanganté secured victory against Guinea-Bissau, before Ademola Lookman struck twice in a 2-0 round of 16 win over Cameroon.

Lookman was again decisive in the quarter-final against Angola, scoring the only goal, while Troost-Ekong converted another penalty in the semi-final draw with South Africa, a match Nigeria eventually won on penalties.

Despite taking the lead through Troost-Ekong in the final against Ivory Coast, the Super Eagles were denied the title as Franck Kessie and Sebastien Haller scored in the 62nd and 81st minutes to hand the hosts a 2-1 victory. Even in defeat, Nigeria’s scoring sequence remained intact.

That trend carried into the 2025 tournament in Morocco as Nigeria opened with a 2-1 win over Tanzania in Fez, with Semi Ajayi and Lookman on target, before edging Tunisia 3-2 thanks to goals from Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Lookman.

A 3-1 victory over Uganda followed, with Paul Onuachu opening the scoring and Raphael Onyedika netting twice, while the round of 16 brought a commanding 4-0 win over Mozambique, featuring goals from Lookman, Osimhen, Akor Adams and another Osimhen strike.

The quarter-final against Algeria in Marrakesh extended the streak to 12 matches, as Osimhen and Adams scored in a 2-0 win that took Nigeria’s goal tally for the tournament to 14.

That figure also represents the highest number of goals the Super Eagles have ever scored at a single AFCON edition, equalling the mark set by Cameroon and leaving them two short of the record 16 goals scored by Ivory Coast in 2008.

The goalless draw against Morocco not only ended the scoring run but also halted another landmark sequence, with Nigeria having scored at least two goals in each of their previous five matches at the tournament, the first time they had achieved such a feat at AFCON.

It was also only the second time in their history that the Super Eagles had scored in five consecutive matches at a single edition, the first being in 2000.

While the historic consecutive streak has now ended, Nigeria still have the opportunity to equal Ivory Coast’s record of 16 goals when they face Egypt in the third-place match on Saturday.

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Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul’s boxing showdown in Miami last month generated the highest combined purse in 2025, raking in $267m as the British heavyweight’s sixth-round knockout victory, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The December encounter at the Hard Rock Stadium, which saw Joshua stop the YouTube star-turned-boxer, finished second overall behind the Terence Crawford vs Canelo Alvarez blockbuster in terms of overall impact, according to a comprehensive breakdown by Betsson.

Crawford’s clash with Alvarez in September topped the rankings with a final score of 94 points, benefiting from 1.5 million searches and an attendance of 70,400, though the fight purse was lower at $200m.

Joshua vs Paul attracted two million searches and an attendance of 19,600, earning a final score of 90 points to finish as the second-biggest fight of the year.

The data compiled by Betsson was broken down by searches, attendance, purse and final score to determine the year’s biggest boxing matchups.

Oleksandr Usyk’s rematch with Daniel Dubois finished third with a final score of 76 points, generating 135,000 searches and the highest attendance of 90,000. The fight also carried a $200m purse.

Chris Eubank Jr’s long-awaited clash with Conor Benn came fourth with 38 points, while Katie Taylor’s trilogy fight with Amanda Serrano and Manny Pacquiao’s bout against Mario Barrios rounded out the top six with 10 points each.

“Search volume, attendance and purse data were collected from Google Keyword Planner, the World Boxing Association website and major sports publications,” the report read in part.

“These metrics were weighted and indexed to rank the year’s biggest fights from largest to smallest. Where figures were not publicly available, values may be estimates and may not reflect real life.”

Joshua’s successful return to the ring came after his September 2024 defeat to Dubois at Wembley Stadium. The 36-year-old’s victory over Paul was his first since reclaiming momentum in his career.

However, the former two-time world heavyweight champion was involved in a fatal car crash in Nigeria on December 29, just 10 days after the Miami fight, which claimed the lives of his close friends Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele.

Joshua sustained minor injuries in the accident and has since returned to the United Kingdom. His uncle, Adedamola Joshua, exclusively told PUNCH Sports Extra that the boxer has decided to retire from boxing following the tragedy.