President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, gave each member of the Flamingos, Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national football team, Federal Government Savings Bonds valued at N100m.
The team’s coach was also given a savings certificate of equal value, and every member of the technical crew received N50m in cash.
The First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, made the announcement while welcoming the players and crew on the President’s behalf at a reception held in their honour at the State House, Abuja, on Wednesday afternoon.
The Flamingos recently made history as the first African team to win the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
Shehu Dikko, Chairman of the National Sports Commission, explained that the choice to give the girls savings bonds instead of cash was intentional and aimed at safeguarding 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 or 12 percent 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, or 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 stated that the girls would receive a monthly income throughout the bond period, noting that the annual returns would offer a steady flow of funds to cover their education, training, and family needs as long as they stayed active in football.
Regarding the future of the team and its coaching staff, Dikko said decisions would be 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.
