Patrick Aubameyang Wins African Player of The Year (Photo)

 Gabon's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has won Africa's top football. The 26-year-old star player is the first man from his country to win the award. Congratulations, handsome dude!

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Lionel Messi wins Best Player of the Year award in Dubai...(photos)

Lionel Messi won the Best Player of the Year award at the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai last night and he's the overwhelming favorite to scoop the Ballon d'or 2015 best player of the year award in January.

The Argentina and Barcelona forward, scored 58 goals as Barcelona enjoyed a memorable treble-winning campaign last season winning the Copa del rey, Champions league and La liga title.

'It's very nice to receive these awards, but I always say that the team makes it possible,' said Messi. 'It's been an extraordinary year.'

Other players like Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo were also honoured at the awards Ceremony in Dubai.

The Award winners in full;
GLOBE SOCCER AWARDS IN DUBAI WINNERS 2015
Best Player of the Year 2015 - Lionel Messi
Best Club 2015 - Barcelona
Best President 2015 - Josep Maria Bartomeu
Best Media Attraction in Football - Barcelona
Player Career Award- Frank Lampard
Player Career Award - Andrea Pirlo
Best Agent 2015 - Jorge Mendes
Best Coach 2015 - Marc Wilmots
Best Academy 2015 - Benfica
Best GCC Player 2015 - Yasir Al-Shahrani
Best Referee 2015 - Ravshan Irmatov

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Serena Williams crowned AP Female Athlete of the Year for the 4th time

Serena Williams was named the 2015 Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year for the fourth time on Friday, December 25. A vote by U.S. editors and news directors saw the Tennis star collect 50 first-place votes and 352 points. Williams took to Instagram to thank her fans writing:

"Female athlete of the year from AP. Thank you. It's been an incredible year. I look forward to making more memorable memories next year. I love you all."

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Lionel Messi Scores as FC Barcelona Beat River Plate to Win FIFA Club World Cup

Yokohama: Lionel Messi fired FC Barcelona to their third FIFA Club World Cup title on Sunday with a disputed opening goal as the European champions beat South American champions River Plate 3-0 in the final.

The Spanish giants welcomed back Messi after a bout of kidney stones and the mercurial Argentine scored with a clinical finish on 36 minutes, before a lethal Luis Suarez double destroyed River's hopes.

"We came here to win the title and it was important to get the job done," said Suarez

"We stayed calm and played our game until Leo scored the first goal. More than my goals, it was just important to get our hands on the trophy."
Neymar, himself returning to the side after a groin strain, was instrumental in Barcelona's opener, climbing to knock down a Dani Alves cross for Messi to steer past River goalkeeper Marcelo Barovero with a deft flick of his left boot.
Suarez, who scored a hat-trick in Barca's 3-0 semi-final win over Guangzhou Evergrande, scored a second with a fierce low drive four minutes into the second half.
The former Liverpool striker grabbed his fifth goal in Japan when he guided a thumping header past a beleaguered Barovero after a pinpoint cross from Neymar.
Barca goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was a spectator for much of the game on a cold night. But the Chilean made an acrobatic save from a shot by River substitute Gonzalo Martinez seven minutes from time to deny the South Americans a consolation goal.
Messi, who forced a smart save from Barovero in the early skirmishes and could himself have finished with a hat-trick, became the first player to score in three finals after leading Barca to victory in 2009 and 2011.
"Messi and Neymar wanted to play in the final, no matter what," said Suarez. "It shows the sacrifice that there is in the group that they did everything to play."
Barcelona added the world title to a host of other titles they have collected this year -- the Champions League, Spain's La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the European Super Cup.

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FIFA ranks Super Falcons as best African women's team of 2015

The Super Falcons have ended the 2015 calendar as the number one female football team in Africa according to the monthly football ranking released by the world's football governing body, FIFA.

None of the Super Falcons' players are on the shortlist of Africa Women’s Footballer of The Year 2015 and the team will not be among the African teams seeking gold at next year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but FIFA still considers them good enough as champions of Africa

And 37th in the world according to this latest ranking..

The Super Falcons moved up from 38th place to 37th in the world with 1602 points and remain number one one in Africa.

Following closely are Cameroon who dropped two places to finish 47th and second in Africa for the out-going year with 1496 points.Ghana moved up two places and earned 1475 points to finish 50th in the word and third in Africa while Equatorial Guinea dropped three spots to fourth, gathering 1452 points.South Africa,Côte d'Ivoire, Algeria, Morocco, Egypt and Senegal complete the top ten teams in Africa.

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PICTURES!! Golfer's wife stretchered away after LeBron James crushed her during game

 The wife of Australian golfer Jason Day was stretchered away in a neck brace after she was crushed by basketball star LeBron James when he fell into the stands. 

Ellie Day  was sitting courtside at Quicken Loans Arena for the Cleveland Cavaliers' home match against Oklahoma City Thunder when James fell onto her. 

James, who stands at an impressive 6ft 8in, was chasing a loose ball when he fell out of bounds, knocked Mrs Day's chair over and crushed the mother-of-two. The PGA Tour golfer's wife, who gave birth to the couple's second child one month ago, was reportedly alert and talking as her husband accompanied her to an ambulance.

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Mourinho, You are still the best!- Mikel Obi

Chelsea Football Club sacked Jose Mourinho after a meeting with the club's hierarchy on Thursday. On Friday night, Mikel Obi shared this photo of him and the 52 year old former manager, writing: 'So sad but you had to leave! Gonna miss you boss!! You are still the best!'

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Cristiano Ronaldo to invest over $40 million in 'CR7' named hotels

Cristiano Ronaldo has increased his investment portfolio with a new business chain of hotels that will span across three cities namely Madeira, Lisbon and Madrid and will bear his trademark logo, CR7.

He announced on Tuesday he will invest over $40 million in hotels in partnership with Pestana Hotel Group, the biggest Hotel chain in Portugal.

Ronaldo and the Pestana Hotel Group will share their investment earnings 50-50 with another in the pipeline for New York. The first hotel will open in summer 2016 in Madeira. It will be followed by Lisbon where Ronaldo moved as a youngster and played for Sporting Lisbon with a Madrid site planned for 2017. Ronaldo is the best paid footballer in the world with $76.6 million in earnings last year, he already has a 'CR7' fashion line,CR7 underwear line,CR7game,CR7 keyboard app,fragrance and a host of other investments.

"My world is that of football but life changes and I always wanted to own a hotel," the 30-year-old former Manchester United player told a press conference in Lisbon. "It was impossible to throw myself alone into a project of this scale, to each his own area of competence. Pestana is the best Portuguese group in this business," he said. He posted on Instagram ''Hi guys! Today i partner with #PestanaHotels for the construction of four new hotels. It's a dream come true! #TimeOfYourLife

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Why we fired Mourinho — Chelsea

Chelsea Football Club, has issued a statement on the sack of Jose Mourinho, noting that he will always be warmly welcomed back to Stamford Bridge
Read statement below:
Chelsea Football Club and Jose Mourinho have today parted company by mutual consent.
All at Chelsea thank Jose for his immense contribution since he returned as manager in the summer of 2013.
His three league titles, FA Cup, Community Shield and three League Cup wins over two spells make him the most successful manager in our 110-year history. But both Jose and the board agreed results have not been good enough this season and believe it is in the best interests of both parties to go our separate ways.
The club wishes to make clear Jose leaves us on good terms and will always remain a much-loved, respected and significant figure at Chelsea. His legacy at Stamford Bridge and in England has long been guaranteed and he will always be warmly welcomed back to Stamford Bridge.
The club’s focus is now on ensuring our talented squad reaches its potential.
There will be no further comment until a new appointment is made.

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Serena Williams rocks sheer outfit for Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year Award

 The Tennis star who was named Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year ,looked sexy in black for the ceremony in New York last night.She also walked the carpet with her sister,Venus.

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Sports Illustrated's 2015 Sportsperson of the year is Serena Williams.

The Tennis ace, 34, has been named Sports Illustrated Sports Person of the Year 2015...

"Serena has made a very strong case as not only the greatest tennis player of her generation but of all time, and after the string of performances she put together in 2015, she is one of the most dominant athletes playing today," The magazine noted in a statement.

She's won 21 Grand Slam titles as well as 53 of her 56 matches this season, and she was ranked No. 1 in women's tennis every week for the second consecutive year. And she's just one Grand Slam short of matching Steffi Graf's record of 22 singles titles.

This will be the first time a single woman has been honored on the magazine's cover since track and field athlete Mary Decker named in 1983. Williams is also the first active tennis player to be named since Chris Evert earned the title in 1976.

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I’ve never doubted I can score goals —Emenike

Al Ain striker Emmanuel Emenike has said he has never doubted his ability to score goals despite criticisms.
And the Fenerbahce loanee said he is looking forward to end the year on a higher note after scoring two goals against Al Shaab on Friday in a 4-2 win.
The former Spartak Moscow striker has been criticised for going through a rough patch, but seems he has been able to block out the critics to concentrate on his performance and score goals after he returned from injury.
“I always believe in what I can do most, I don’t doubt myself and it has always worked for me,” Emenike said.
“My last goal at home against Al Ahli has really boosted my spirit and I am building on it with these two goals.
“Scoring goals is my responsibility but my bigger priority is to contribute to the team.  We are playing well every week, it’s a sign of good form and hopefully working towards being champions again. But it’s not all about an individual but everybody in the team.”
“Every game is important, we need more points before the year runs out, it will enable us to resume with high confidence to continue from where we stopped, and for me, I aim to end it on high and resume with more goals next year.”

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Cristiano Ronaldo wants to re-unite with Carlo Ancelotti

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has described former coach Carlo Ancelotti as “a big bear”, and hopes to work under the decorated Italian in future.

 

The experienced tactician lead Los Blancos to their coveted Decima in the 2013/14 Uefa Champions League season, before being shown the door after a trophyless season last time out.
Yet Ronaldo, who scored 48 goals in 35 matches under the Italian’s guidance two seasons ago, has nothing but praise for the former AC Milan and Chelsea coach, and hope to be re-united with him again soon.
“Mr. Ancelotti was an unbelievable surprise,” Ronaldo told ESPN. “In the beginning I thought he was more a tough person, more... kind of arrogant , and it was the opposite.
"He's like a big bear, I can say. He's a cute guy, such a sensitive person. He spoke with us every day. Not just with me but with all the players. He had fun with us.
"He's an unbelievable person. I just wish every player could have an opportunity to work with him because he's a fantastic guy, a fantastic coach and I miss him a lot because we won many trophies together. And I wish to work with him one day again. But now I'm good. I have a new coach and I'm happy too, but it's great I have good memories."
Ancelotti, who has taken a one-year break from football, was CR7’s fifth coach at the Spanish side, yet the Portuguese star says despite not agreeing with all the changes, he understands the demands and pressures at such a prestigious club.
"Sometimes it is not easy. If you keep changing all the time it's hard," he said. "I don't like when they change, or they sell or buy players every year, or they change coach every year. Because I think sometimes you need time to know each other, to know the coaches.
"It's only the way that you can improve yourself in terms of individual or collective too. For the team to be consistent. To change all the time is difficult because you have to adapt to other players have to adapt to you. So it's hard.
"I'm not a huge fan of when they change all the time but it's part of the business. The market is like that. They sell, they buy players. So you have to adapt to that. And Real Madrid is a club that buys a player every year, so we have to adapt to that."
Madrid, who lie third in the Spanish standings, four points adrift of Barcelona, take on Villarreal on Sunday night.

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Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo won't rule out future Barcelona move

MADRID -- Cristiano Ronaldo is really serious about keeping his options open for the future. Not even Barcelona nor Manchester United's rivals in England are off limits.

Ronaldo told The Associated Press on Thursday that he knows it would be "very complicated" to play for these clubs, but it's something that the Real Madrid star doesn't rule out either.

He said nothing is certain in football, so he will not close doors to any leagues or teams, not even Madrid's biggest rival.
"It's a little more difficult, but...," he said, with a long pause, not dismissing the possibility.
"There are things that you kind of already have an idea, that to play one day for Barcelona would be almost impossible, or to play for another English club other than Manchester, it's very complicated," he said. "But that's not 100 percent guaranteed. As I said before, there are no certainties in football."
In his interview with the AP, the Portugal forward made it clear that when it's time to decide about his future, he will consider all options on the table.
"Everything is open, all leagues," he said. "I may end my career here with Real Madrid. I'm just being honest. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. If I were 75 percent certain, I would say so, it wouldn't be a problem. But I have no idea."

Speaking before the launch of his new product with Herbalife, Ronaldo said he may even decide to be somewhere else other than Europe, and that it's not impossible for him to be playing in the United States' Major League Soccer.
"Right now I don't see myself playing in the American league, but that's right now," he said. "In two or three years I may think differently."
He said that in the future he may be at a stage of his life in which he might prefer playing in the U.S., instead of the more traditional European leagues.
"These are always difficult questions to answer because we never know what's going to happen tomorrow," he said. "And as a football professional, this is always an unknown, so I prefer to stay in the present. The present is good and I'm enjoying being at Real Madrid. But in a few years I don't know how I'm going to be thinking."
Ronaldo has a contract with Real Madrid until 2018, but there has been widespread speculation about him leaving the Spanish club -- despite having become their all-time leading scorer. Those rumors gained ground after his brief sideline meeting with Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc in a recent Champions League match at the Santiago Bernabeu, but Ronaldo has been downplaying any immediate move out of Madrid.
"When it's closer to ending my contract I'm going to have to make decisions, whether it's staying at Real Madrid or going to another club or ending my career in a few years," the 30-year-old Ronaldo said.
"It's normal. That's why I'm not worried, because I know that everything has a beginning and everything has an end. I'm ready for that. I'm ready to stay at Real Madrid, to leave, to end my career when it's time. It's part of my job."
The Portugal star, named World Player of the Year three times, played six seasons with Manchester United before joining Madrid in 2009.
Ronaldo also addressed a number of other topics:

Portugal at Euro 2016

"Portugal have never been the favorite. It's normal, they never won a major title with their senior team, so obviously they're not a favorite. But in football there are always surprises and anything can happen. So I'm hopeful that this time Portugal can come up with a brilliant performance. We have a good team, with 20 good new players and a very good coach [Fernando Santos].
"We have all the ingredients to win an important competition. There's always the luck factor, especially in these short competitions. That's always important when it comes to the groups, the teams that you have to play against. But I'm hopeful and I think that Portugal have a good chance. We have a good team and good players who are ready and motivated."

The Ballon d'Or

"Obviously, I don't have control over who wins it. It's not like the Golden Boot, which is based on statistics. This one is about votes, so it's harder. Sometimes people don't look at what you did in the past, just what you are doing now, so it's very complicated.
"I don't think it would be a surprise if I won it, I personally had an excellent season. In terms of numbers, this was my best season. But it wasn't in terms of titles, for sure. Whoever wins it will be a deserving winner."

Real Madrid's recent woes

"It's complicated when the team is going through a moment of instability. We want to make the fans happy every day, but it's difficult, obviously. But after the storm comes the calm and I hope that's what we will find now. We have won five straight matches after the loss to Barcelona. We had the setback against Cadiz [in the Copa del Rey], but we are going through a good moment.
"Personally too, I am feeling good, I'm more confident, and the goals and the good performances are happening. So I'm at ease and hopeful of always being able to do more."

Retirement

"I'm not thinking about that just yet. I feel I'm strong, I'm fast. Even faster than some of the 21-year-old and 22-year-old players that I've been playing against. And I hope that it stays this way."

Source: espnfc

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Nigeria And Senegal To fight over Rio Olympics ticket

Nigeria will today face hosts Senegal in the first semi-final of the U-23 AFCON with a ticket to the Rio 2016 Olympic football event at stake.
The winners of this tie will qualify for the Rio Olympics and the final of U-23 AFCON.
Both teams are not new to each other having met three times with a win each for them and a draw.
Their first meeting was at Abuja 2003 All Africa Games football event where Nigeria won 2-0 with goals from Emmanuel Izuagha and Emmanuel Okoduwa.
Senegal then took their pound of flesh at the first edition of CAF U-23 AFCON in Morocco in 2011 with a 2-1 win.
Their third meeting was at 2015 All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville in September, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
To reach the semi-final of U-23 AFCON, Senegal won all their three games, while Nigeria were also unbeaten, posting a win and two draws.
The Nigeria defence, who let in four goals in three games, must be wary of the Senegalese attack led by Moumodou Habibou Diallo as they have scored six goals, while Nigeria strike force led by Junior Ajayi have to work harder to get the goals against a strong Senegal defence, who have let in only a goal in three games.
The crowd will be behind the home team, whose confidence has been on a high since they struck gold at the AAG in Congo earlier this year.
Samson Siasia’s team will be without suspended skipper Azubuike Okechukwu and winger Stanley Dimgba, who is nursing an ankle injury.
Senegal will also be sweating on attacking midfielder Sidy Sarr, who was forced out by injury in the final group match against Zambia.
Dream Team VI defender Chizoba Amaefule has assured the defenders have grown in confidence after keeping a clean sheet in their last group game against Algeria and he is confident Nigeria will beat favourites Senegal to reach the championship final.
“Keeping clean sheet against Algeria has boosted our confidence and morale,” he said.
“Everybody is working harder and ready to do more. The semi-final against Senegal is not going to an  easy game,  but it’s a  game we must win to actualise our dream of coming here, which is to win the competition and qualify for the Olympics.
“I am ready for the game and  my teammates  are all ready to win the  game.”
Kick–off time is 4pm Nigerian time at the Leopold Sedar Senghor Stadium in Dakar.

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Neymar becomes first Barcelona player to win La Liga Player of the Month award

Streaks are there to be broken. Arsenal’s unbeaten run came to an halt at the hands of Manchester United that ended the era of the ‘Invincibles’, Brock Lesnar beat Undertaker to become the 1 in 21-1 at WrestleMania, and more recently Ronda Rousey saw her winning streak in the UFC ended with a stunning knockout defeat by Holly Holm.

But now the longest running streak, at least for Barcelona, is over
 – and that’s a good thing for the Catalans.

After 20 consecutive months without recognition, a Barcelona player has finally won the La Liga Player of the Month award, and somewhat surprisingly it isn’t Lionel Messi but his in-form team-mate Neymar.
The Brazilian picked up the award on Tuesday morning after scoring five goals in just three matches in November, with Barcelona stretching their winning streak to seven matches that only came to a halt on Saturday in the form of a 1-1 draw with

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Nigeria slump to 66th on FIFA ranking

Ahmed Musa of Nigeria celebrates scoring his team’s second goal and his second of the game during 

the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Group F match against Argentina at Estadio Beira-Rio on 

June 25, 2014 in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

 

Nigeria’s senior national team, the Super Eagles have crashed to their worst FIFA ranking in 21 years, dropping seven places to 66th in the world ranking released by the world football governing body yesterday.
The Super Eagles gathered a total of 541 points to fall to no. 14 in Africa behind Cote d’Ivoire, Algeria, Ghana, Cape Verde, Tunisia, Senegal, Congo, Guinea, Egypt, Cameroon, Congo DR, Mali and Uganda.
Cote d’Ivoire are ranked first in Africa with 950 points while the Fennecs of Algeria end 2015 as runners-up after gathering 845 points. Ghana are third on the log with 778 points.
Belgium claim the team of the year award for 2015. The Red Devils jumped into first position (their first-ever) on the FIFA /Coca-Cola World Ranking in the November ranking, but a 3-1 victory over four-time world champion Italy in Brussels on 13 November saw them hold on to the coveted position for the final ranking of 2015.
Turkey receive the award for best mover of the year thanks to the 329 points they collected over the last 12 months of football. Having last competed at a major tournament back in 2008, Turkey secured a place at the UEFA Euro 2016 in a campaign that saw them defeat Netherlands
The highest climbers of 2013, thanks to nine wins, two draws and only one defeat, are Ukraine, who have collected no fewer than 312 points since December 2012, moving up 29 places to 18th and gaining the title of Mover of the Year for the first time.
In contrast, Portugal dropped three places into 7th having lost 145 points - the most points lost by a team.
Of the 137 matches taken into account for the latest ranking more than two thirds (92 games) were World Cup qualifiers; eight of the 137 games were playoff matches to determine the final four teams to qualify for EURO 2016, and the remaining 37 matches were international friendlies.
The next FIFA world ranking will be published on January 7 next year.

 

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FIFA releases statement over arrest of it's vice presidents by the U.S. Department of Justice this morning

Football's governing body, FIFA, has released a statement concerning today's raid by police at the luxury Baur Au Lac Hotel, scene of raids in May that saw seven FIFA officials arrested and charged, triggering a crisis from which the organisation is still reeling. The officials who were arrested at 6a.m this morning are being held in custody pending extradition, the Swiss authorities said. The US arrest requests say the officials are suspected of accepting bribes involving millions of dollars.

The Swiss authorities say they will hold hearings on the requests before the end of the day.

If the officials agree to extradition, the process can be agreed immediately but, if they oppose extradition, the US will need to submit a formal extradition request within 40 days.

Read FIFA's official statement on it's website after the jump.

''FIFA is aware of the actions taken today by the U.S. Department of Justice. FIFA will continue to cooperate fully with the U.S. investigation as permitted by Swiss law, as well as with the investigation being led by the Swiss Office of the Attorney General. FIFA will have no further comment on today’s developments''

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Nigeria’s first goalkeeper dies at 91

 Ibiam 91, died in the early hours of yesterday at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Umuahia, Abia State.

The nation’s pioneer goal tender who hailed from Unwana, Ebonyi State; the same town with the late nationalist, Ezeogo Akanu Ibiam had a flourishing football career that spanned three decades, fif­teen of which was with the national team.

Chief Jasper Okoro, a retired foot­baller and coach who was mentored by the late Sam Ibiam confirmed the death to Daily Sunsports.

Ibiam’s football skill was identi­fied at the Church of Scotland Mis­sion School (CMS) Unwana before he proceeded to Hope Waddel Insti­tute, Calabar.

In 1949, he was the goalkeeper of the first national football team that toured the United Kingdom; play­ing notable English teams like Liv­erpool FC.

The team eventually metamor­phosed to Green Eagles after the nation’s Independence. He manned the post last for the nation in 1962.

Two notable contemporaries of the late soccer legend were Teslim Balogun and Dan Anyiam.

Chief Okoro described the death as the “exit of the most indefatiga­ble legend of soccer in Nigeria

AS part of activities marking the 120 years of its formation as well as the 30th edition of its annual Gala nite, the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club has bestowed an honorary membership award on the President General of Nigeria Football and other Sports Supporters Club, Dr. Rafiu Ladipo.

President of the club, Barrister Rotimi Edu, said the award was in recognition of the numerous contribu­tions made by Ladipo to the development of sports in the country.

“The role the Supporters Club plays to ensure that national teams win their matches cannot be quantified. These are men and women who go out of their way to raise money and follow the national teams wher­ever they are going and it is important we recognize one individual behind the success of the club,” Edu remarked.

While commending Supporters Club for their pat­riotism, Edu said he would be delighted to see the club on display at a tennis championship as that would help the growth of the game in the country.

Speaking on the award, Ladipo noted that he was delighted to be found worthy to be honoured by the prestigious club even as he pledged that the cordial relationship existing between the two clubs would be strengthened.

A total of eight eminent Nigerians were honoured by the club which is the premier tennis club in the country.

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Former Super Falcons star, Vera Okolo, says the team drank garri while on national duty

Coming on the heels of the revelation by the new sports minister Solomon Dalong of how he was a victim of corruption in Nigerian sports, former super falcons star, Vera Okolo has opened another can of worms. She says while on duty at the African Women's Championship in 2004 and 2007, the team wasn't paid its bonuses, they had to make do with very few kits and it got so bad Nigerians in South Africa donated food to the team. She said the then governor of Rivers state, Peter Odili stepped in to pay the bill for their meals.

“I cannot imagine a team representing a country as popular and blessed as Nigeria, to go for a tournament like that and be treated shabbily. If I open up on the terrible things that happened in South Africa, you will pity the players and heap praises on us,” Okolo told the Vanguard.

“We played that tournament with two pairs of white jerseys and one pair of green jerseys. Those were what we played with for over two weeks. In fact, I played two matches with groin injury, all in the name of wanting to win for Nigeria.”

The former player who is now attending the Nigeria Institute of Sports also detailed how the ladies were owed their due pay.

“Normally, when you go for such tournaments, as long as you win, you get your match bonus after a game. But it was a different ball game in South Africa. After winning our first match, we got to the hotel, expecting our bonus. It started from the kits. After giving us three jerseys, we asked why, they said they were bringing kits from Nigeria, that we should make do with what we have. We said, no problem as we were focused on retaining the cup.

“It was strange but we told them that it was not really the jersey that plays the game but the players. On match days we avoided exchanging jerseys. It became a crime to do so. We told them that we were not going back to Nigeria without the cup. And when the bonuses were not being paid after wining our matches, they became deeply worried and we rose to tell them not to allow that to weigh them down.”

“Even in Algiers 2007, it happened. Before most of our matches, we drank garri. But we felt good even with it. After the tournament in South Africa, Kikelomo Ajayi who was our captain was mandated by us to go and meet the officials to pay us the bonuses but we were shocked when she returned to tell us that they said we should go back to Nigeria to collect the money.

“That was when we said no, that if we got to Nigeria, they would not pay. Experiences have  shown that our officials don’t stand by their words, so we refused to go back home until the money was paid.

“Even when the embassy officials said that we were on our own and they would only provide for our breakfast, we were not moved. It was at that time that Nigerians in South Africa knew of our plight and said that as long as they were alive that we would not lack anything good in South Africa.

“They were bringing us food; in fact, we had so much that we were even giving out to visitors and friends. We had more than we had during the tournament. They said we should have told them all this while but we were not supposed to wash our dirty linens outside. But it just got to that extent that we could not hide it any more.

“There was a time that the former Governor of Rivers State, Dr. Peter Odili had to intervene. He called (Peterside) Idah, when he heard of our travails, to feed the players and send the bill to him.

“It was like that until the money was now given to us and immediately, they said we should pack to go to Nigeria.

“Then President, Olusegun Obasanjo gave us N1m each, after hearing what happened.”

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