Itumeleng Khune G/K of Kaizer Chiefs during the 2016 Premier Soccer League match between Kaizer Chiefs and Ajax Cape Town held at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, South Africa on the 24th September 2016
Photo by: Steve Haag / Real Time Images
Afcon 2019: Nigerian players offered R360k a goal vs Bafana Bafana
Bafana Bafana’s Itumeleng Khune will have to be extra sharp in front of goal when the team plays Nigeria. The Super Eagles have a financial incentive to score.
Itumeleng Khune G/K of Kaizer Chiefs during the 2016 Premier Soccer League match between Kaizer Chiefs and Ajax Cape Town held at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, South Africa on the 24th September 2016
Photo by: Steve Haag / Real Time Images
Incentives are nice, right? Nigeria have offered their Super Eagles a pretty penny for goals scored against South Africa in their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier. The two sides will meet in Johannesburg on Saturday.
The incentive comes from the Governor of Delta State Ifeanyi Okowa, who made the announcement while visiting the team at training in Nigeria this week.
“I am pleased to have the Super Eagles here in Asaba‚” Okowa told the team in front of reporters.
“We hope you make Asaba your home‚ and as a people we will begin to follow your progress even more closely.
“We appreciate the giant strides Nigerian football is making and commend the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation for making Delta State part of its success story.
“For every goal scored by the Super Eagles in Johannesburg on Saturday‚ we pledge a reward of US$25‚000. Please don’t put a limit to the number of goals you score on Saturday; try and score as many as possible.
In some corners, the move has been described as political. Many see it as a move by Okowa to try covet support. The Super Eagles trained in Okowa’s region on Tuesday and will travel to Mzansi on Wednesday.
But the Nigerian team weren’t fazed.
“The Super Eagles will continue to work hard to make all those who have played one role or the other in their progress happy that their investment in the team is not a waste.”Stand-in Captain, Ahmed Musa, said.
We thank His Excellency, Governor Okowa so much for the motivation to us to do well in Johannesburg on Saturday.
“We promise that we will return here on Sunday with the victory. We will also do all we can to give the people of Asaba and the generality of Delta State and Nigerians a very good game against Uganda next Tuesday.”
Nigeria currently tops Group E with nine points, closely followed by South Africa on eight. The top two teams from the group will progress.
