President
Goodluck Jonathan has approved a special grant of N1.6bn for Nigeria’s
2014 World Cup campaign, in addition to the official budgetary
allocations of the Nigeria Football Federation.
The
extra amount will go towards training programmes before the trip to the
FIFA tournament, to be held in Brazil in June, and arrangements for the
Super Eagles’ stay in the United States of America.
The
Minister of Sports Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi said that the government was
giving Nigeria’s World Cup participation the highest level of attention
in order to encourage their success.
“We
are aware of the financial challenges of Nigerian teams while preparing
for big events. It is not just about football but sports in general,
including the Commonwealth Games and the World Youth Olympics also
coming up this year. In view of the challenges posed by the budgetary
process, we had to work ahead to get funding for the teams in a way that
funds will not hamper the entire plans.
“President
Goodluck Jonathan has keenly followed the problems over the years and
that has made it possible for us to find a solution that will be
beneficial to the athletes and their aspirations and the entire country
at large.”
Reports
also indicate that the minister was canvassing for extra funds from
private donors to add to the official allocations, to ensure that poor
funding will not be a factor in the team’s performance.
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