NFF budgets N5.9bn for Super Eagles, others

IF the 2016 budget estimate of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) gets the nod of the National Assembly, the financial problems of the Super Eagles and other national teams would be a thing of the past, as the soccer federation has earmarked a total of N5.9 billion to fund football activities next year.

The 2016 soccer budget estimate to the National Assembly was circulated to congress members during NFF’s 71st Annual General Assembly (AGA) in Abuja on Wednesday. The document revealed that N1.5 billion would be spent on Super Eagles’ participation in the Championship of African Nations (CHAN) scheduled for Rwanda from Jan. 16 to Feb. 7, 2016.
 The amount would take care of the team’s camping , qualifiers, Overseas training tour as well as actual participa- tion in the competition. The federation equally disclosed that the U-20 FIFA Women World Cup billed for Papua New Guinea from Nov. 13 to Dec.3, would gulp N672 million, while Dream Team’s Rio 2016 Olympics campaign is to gulp N369m.

Flying Eagles preparation and participation in the U-20 Cup of Nations would gulp another N620m. Other events captured in the NFF budget include COPA Lagos beach soccer (N651m), African Women Championship (N920m), grassroots youth championships (N115m) as well as payment of coaches salaries which is to gulp N286m.

THE SUN