The much awaited presidential reception for players and officials of the home-based Super Eagles will now hold next Wednesday in Abuja.
The Home Eagles came second at the African Nations Championship in Morocco after going down to a 4-0 defeat against the hosts in the final fixture in Casablanca on Sunday.
The contingent arrived from Morocco early Tuesday morning and were earlier scheduled to proceed to the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja where they were to be hosted by President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House.
“The reception will take place next week Wednesday as against today which was earlier announced,” the team coordinator, Patrick Pascal, said.
“They didn’t give us any reason for the postponement but we are hopeful that it will hold next week as planned.
“Even though we are still waiting for final confirmation from the sports minister, all things being equal the boys will get the chance to see the President next week.
“They deserve it if you consider how poor we performed in 2016 and the fact that many people did not give them the chance to make it to the final in Morocco.”
…to get $400, 000, CAF Prize money, says NFF
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have officially released the cash payments of all teams that participated at the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Morocco, with second-placed Nigeria to earn the sum of $400,000 and not $750,000 as widely reported, the Nigeria Football Federation explained in a press release on Wednesday.
Official figures have now shown that hosts and champions Morocco will pocket the sum of $750,000, with silver medalists Nigeria to earn $400,000 and semi finalists Sudan (eventual bronze medalists) and Libya to pocket the sum of $250,000 each.
The four teams that crashed out at the quarter-final stage Namibia, Zambia, Angola and Congo will each earn $175,000, while the third-placed teams in each of the four preliminary groups will get $125,000 each.
The fourth-placed teams in each of the four groups will each get $100,000.
“CAF has spread the monies in such a way that each of the 16 participating teams at the finals would benefit. No team has received its share yet, but once the finance and audit people conclude their work in a number of weeks, the teams will be paid,” NFF President Amaju Pinnick, a member of both the CAF Executive Committee and the CAF Emergency Committee, told thenff.com on Wednesday.
This means Home Eagles’ players and officials, who have been promised 30 per cent of the bonus by the Nigeria Football Federation, will have to wait to get their money.
