President Bola Tinubu has rewarded Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national football team, the Flamingos, with Federal Government Savings Bonds worth N100m each following their historic triumph at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The team’s head coach, Akeem Busari, also received a cash gift of N100m, while members of the technical crew were presented with N50m each in cash.
The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, announced the rewards on behalf of the President during a reception for the players and their officials at the State House, Abuja, on Wednesday.
The gesture followed the Flamingos’ remarkable achievement of becoming the first African team to win the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, marking a significant milestone for Nigerian women’s football and the continent’s representation in the competition.
Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko, said the decision to give the players savings bonds instead of cash was intended to safeguard their financial future, considering that most of the beneficiaries are teenagers.
He explained that the investment would provide the players with financial returns over a five-year period while allowing them to concentrate on their education and football development.
“There is no need to flood them with money that can distort their career.
“So we are now giving them what we call an FGN savings bond for like five years. That savings bond comes at like 14, 12 per cent interest annually, meaning each of them will be adding like N1.1m plus monthly for the next five years, which is enough to look outside their education, to look outside their training, and then by the time those bonds mature, they are already adults.
“They can make a clear decision of what to do with their own money,” Dikko said.
The NSC chairman added that the arrangement was designed to ensure the players would not be handed huge sums of money at an early age without adequate consideration for their long-term welfare.
“I don’t think there is any father that wants to give his 16-year-old, 15-year-old, N100m at this age.
“But you can invest for your 16-year-old so that at 20 they will have money to set up their life.
“That’s basically what the president has done at this moment, which is unprecedented,” he said.
Dikko further noted that the annual returns from the bonds would provide a steady source of income for the players, helping them meet educational, training and family-related expenses throughout the investment period.
He also addressed the future of the team’s coaching staff, explaining that decisions would depend on the number of players still eligible for the next U-17 competition cycle.
“We have to look at how many of these girls are still available for the next U-17.
“If more are still under that age, they can play the next one; better you keep the coach at this level. If they are moving to the U-21, better they go with their coach to do that,” Dikko said.
The decision, he explained, would determine whether Busari remains with the Flamingos or moves alongside players who progress to a higher age-grade category.
