$2.8m will be ready for Eagles World Cup campaign by April – Pinnick

The President, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, on Friday revealed that the sum of $2.8 million needed for the Super Eagles for their World Cup campaign in Russia will be available by end of April.

He disclosed this at the inauguration of Odu’a Football Leagues at the Western Nigeria Football Forum office, Cocoa House, Ibadan.

Pinnick said his team has been working round the clock to get the money ready, pointing out that it was necessary to ensure that there is no human error on the part of the federation in its preparation for the tournament.

According to him, availability of the fund and other things will boost the morale of the players, coaches, technical staff, supporters and other stakeholders in the tournament.

Pinnick explained that his team was working tirelessly behind the scene to ensure Nigerian professional footballers playing in foreign clubs are given good roles and featured regularly in their matches.

He lauded promoters of the Western Nigeria Football Forum who include Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi, Mr Seyi Akinwumi, Chief Adegboye Onigbinde and other known football stakeholders in Southwest.

Expressing happiness with the establishment of the forum and the idea of a regional league, Pinnick said the region proved once again to be the pace setter in Nigeria. He added that the fact that the forum’s office is in Cocoa House is symbolic of the pace setting position of Western Nigeria because the high rise building was the first in Nigeria.

Twelve clubs in the six states in Southwest will participate in the football league.

The NFF boss said there will be no more scarcity of players for every position on the field in the national team when talents are identified, nurtured and grown at regional levels.

Read Also: FIFA Sanction: Pinnick apologises to Nigerians

Earlier, the Acting Director General (DG), the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, Mr Seye Oyeleye, said the commission was working with the forum to put the region on the map as a flourishing sports community.

He pledged to revive Principals’ Cup, introduce Governors’ Cup and Tertiary Institution’s’ Cup tournaments in the region.

He said: “It is part of our mandate at the Commission to put the Southwest Region on the map as a flourishing sport community

It is part of our role to use sport as a critical tool to create huge impact on the well-being of our people as well as eliciting means of encouraging an entire community to participate and see the benefits of physical activity.

“The economic benefits of Sports is also extremely important  inour desire to intervene, we Sports in general as a tool to curb massive unemployment among our youth; think of the entire value chain of Sports and the knock-on effect on the economic well-being of our Region. This explains why we count Sports as a critical pillar of our development trajectory as a people.

The Commission is committed to developing sports and recreational activities within the Southwest Region. This commitment derives from the conviction that sports can serve as a significant tool to improve the overall health standard in the Region – but sports is also so much more. Sport can also serve as nation-building and peace preserving instrument not only for the Southwest Region, but for the entire country Nigeria. Sport also teaches us teamwork – which every person counts, it teaches us the importance of fair play and observing code of rules. It sets aside our personal aspirations for the benefit of the collectiveand it teaches us that winning or losing can be done with honour– knowing that one did the very best of one’s ability.

“Our vision is to see a sports movement in the Southwest Region open to all. Unfortunately today’s reality is far from that vision as many groups still stand in the periphery, for example girls and women, schools sports, persons with physical and mental disabilities and socially deprived youth. It must be made clear that every citizen constitutes a crucial component of our regional progress.”

Pinnick also disclosed that the Federation has envisioned that two stadiums would be built in every state within the next five years with the support of the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) and private sector sponsors as they will be owned by football associations of each state.

At the event were sports commissioners of states in the region, chairmen and secretaries of football associations of states in the region, referees, coaches and former Nigerian international footballers.

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