The Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung on Thursday said that Super Falcons winning the African Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) trophy last Saturday, took the government by surprise as proper arrangements were not made.
According to him, funds were not available because the team was not expected to win the trophy.
According to him, funds were not available because the team was not expected to win the trophy.
The victorious female footballers expressed their disappointment in Abuja on Wednesday as they seized the trophy and refused to vacate their hotel rooms.
Speaking with State House correspondents over the embarrassing development, Dalung said that if the NFF was confident of the victory in Cameroon, it would have applied for and processed the funds for their bonuses early enough to avoid the ugly aftermath.
He said that government needed to perform a ‘surgery’ on the sports sector otherwise, similar occurrences are bound to happen again.
“It is unfortunate that we are celebrating victory of the Super Falcons amidst some bitter feelings among the players because of some administrative lapses that were not managed properly.
“If the situation was explained to these girls I don’t think the situation would have gotten to this level. But we are working round to clock to ensure that what belongs to them legitimately is given to them. This has to do with government process.
“One thing I always make clear is that the process of request for funds for sporting projects must come earlier to meet the objectives. Don’t forget that nobody even knew the team would emerge victorious, if we were confident they will emerge victorious, all the Federation would have done is to plan for process of participation and entitlement.
Tags:
SPORTS