President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday gifted the Flamingos, Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national football team, Federal Government Savings Bonds worth N100m each.
The team’s coach also received a savings certificate of the same value, while each technical crew member received N50m in cash.
The announcement was made by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who received the players and crew on behalf of the President at a reception held in their honour at the State House, Abuja, on Wednesday afternoon.
The Flamingos recently made history by being the first African team to win the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko, explained that the decision to present the girls with savings bonds rather than cash was deliberate and designed to protect the long-term interests of players who are mostly teenagers.
He said, “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.”
He added, “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 their life.
“That’s basically what the president has done at this moment, which is unprecedented.”
Dikko said the girls would not go without monthly income during the bond period, noting that the annual returns would provide a steady stream of funds to cover their education, training and family needs while they remained active in football.
On the future of the team and its coaching staff, Dikko said decisions would be made based on the age eligibility of players for the next U-17 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,” he said.
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