President Bola Tinubu has rewarded each member of Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, with a N100 million five-year Federal Government savings bond following their historic triumph at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
The First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu, announced the reward on Wednesday while representing the President at a reception organised in honour of the team at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja.
The N100 million savings bond for each player is designed to secure their financial future and prevent the young footballers, many of whom are minors, from being overwhelmed by immediate access to large sums of money.
The Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Shehu Dikko, said the bonds would attract between 12 and 14 per cent annual interest, with each player expected to receive approximately N1.1 million monthly over the five-year period.
He explained that by the time the bonds mature, the players would have attained adulthood and would be better positioned to make informed financial decisions.
“These are young kids, under 17. There is no need to flood them with money. That can destroy their career. So we are now giving them what we call an FGN savings bond for like five years,” Dikko said.
“By the time those bonds mature, they are already adults. They can make a clear decision on what to do with their own money.”
Members of the team's technical crew will also receive N50 million each.
The Flamingos defeated Japan 2-1 on Saturday to become the first African team to win the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. The victory also marked Nigeria's first-ever global title in women's football.
Nigeria's Oluebube Umejiaku was named Player of the Tournament after an impressive campaign in which the 16-year-old won multiple Player of the Match awards and scored four goals, including the decisive goal against Japan.
The team returned to Nigeria with the trophy on Monday.
On Tuesday, the Senate also announced a N100 million donation to the team in recognition of their historic World Cup victory.
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