The Presidency has defended the \$100,000 reward given to each Super Falcons player by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu following their recent victory at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.
Presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, made the statement on Tuesday via his official X (formerly Twitter) handle. He responded to criticism from some Nigerians who questioned the amount spent on rewarding the team.
Onanuga compared the presidential gesture to the ₦150 million prize awarded to the winner of the Big Brother Naija (BBNaija) reality show, asking why sports heroes were being treated differently.
“When you remember that Multichoice, the organizer of the BBNaija reality show, is offering the winner ₦150 million grand prize, you wonder why some Nigerians are unappreciative of President Tinubu’s rewards to the Super Falcons,” Onanuga said.
President Tinubu’s reward package includes \$100,000 for each of the 24 players, \$50,000 for each coach and support staff, national honours (Officer of the Order of the Niger – OON) for all team members, and a three-bedroom apartment under the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Housing Scheme.
The Super Falcons’ WAFCON victory marked another historic moment for Nigerian women’s football, and the federal government says it is committed to recognising excellence in all fields.
While some Nigerians applauded the move as encouraging and patriotic, others felt the spending was excessive given the current economic challenges facing the country.
