Yes, Eagles received $5,000 bonus- NFF

[SunNews]

By  ROMANUS UGWU, Abuja

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has confirmed that Super Eagles players eventually accepted the $5,000 winning bonus after the victory over Harambee Stars of Kenya.

General Secretary of the federation, Barrister Musa Amadu, also faulted the insinuation that President Goodluck Jonathan's expression of confidence in the team picking the World Cup ticket would mount pressure on the team.

Asked to confirm the bonus rejection by players, the Glass House chief scribe said: "We have paid them what they are entitled to as bonus.

"We do not have the fund to pay bonuses more than we are paying now.

But if our purse is such that we cannot pay what we don't have, we have to be honest to ourselves and tell everybody. This is just the truth of the matter and we need to understand the understanding of the coaches, players and generality of Nigerians as to what we can offer.

"We should understand that even with the reduction in bonuses, we  still pay the highest bonuses in African. I don't think the players are too worried about the particular amount they get. The pride of representing the country alone and being patriotic on the field of play, are much more than the bonuses you get.

"I want us too deemphasise these things and concentrate on the importance task of qualifying for the World Cup, participate and do well in the Confederations Cup after facing strong countries in Tahiti, Uruguay and Spain. There was no bonus crisis at all," he insisted.

On whether the confidence President Goodluck Jonathan expressed will in anyway put pressure on the team, Barrister Amadu said: "His comment that we are on course for the World Cup ticket does not in anyway put pressure on the team. On the contrary, it relieves the tension because the President has assured the team that the whole nation is fully behind them.

"It means that there are high confidence that the team will qualify for the World Cup. In fact, his interest in the team so far did not indicate that he is putting any form of pressure on the team," he insisted.

 

Via: Sun News Online