The Nigeria Football Federation members
largely see the Sunday match against Cote d’Ivoire as the biggest
obstacle to landing the trophy when the final match is played on
February 9.
As the build to the game continues, the
NFF officials have reminded the players that they would not go back on
their pledged to dole out $15,000 (About 2.3 Milllion Naira) to each player if they are able to
beat an Ivorian side inspired by Didier Drogba and African Footballer of
the Year Yaya Toure.
The Eagles or Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire
will face the winner of the quarter final match between hosts South
Africa and Mali at the next stage.
On Thursday, a top NFF official reconfirmed to MTNFootball.com that the said amount is what the players would receive for their effort.
In Rustenburg on Thursday the Super
Eagles officials, though, tried to play down the monetary offer
insisting they were not “the cash officers for the team and could
therefore not speak on it.” It was learnt that they are acting on past
experiences where money matters truncated the dreams of the entire
country especially as witnessed in France ’98 World Cup where the Eagles
fell to less facied Denmark team after spending the previous night
arguing over dollars.
For the semi-finals each player will be
$20,000 richer if they triumph and get into the final game. For victory
in the championship game on February 10 inside the National Stadium in
Johannesburg, each player will pocket another $30,000.
Each player received $30,000 after the team defeated Ethiopia and qualified for the quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Team sponsor Guinness has also made a
financial commitment for goals scored at the AFCON, while the Eagles are
expecting billionaire Aliko Dangote to splash more cash after they
reached the last eight. Each player was paid about $80,000 when Nigeria
finished third at the 2010 Nations Cup in Angola.
On Thursday team captain Joseph Yobo said the game would be an exciting one for him and as such looking forward eagerly to it.
He said, “They are a great team (Cote
d’Ivoire) and so we are and we know ourselves well. And so nobody is
afraid of the other. It is just a case of top football giants clashing
at the wrong time. I believe we shall be up to it.”
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