President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday honoured each player and official of the Nigerian Super Eagles with the Member of the Order of the Niger national award for securing the silver medal at the just-concluded 2023 Africa Nations Cup.
“‘It is not easy to absorb a loss, particularly when the expectations are high. But you have demonstrated sportsmanship, resilience and team spirit throughout the tournament,” said Tinubu as he decorated each team member with MON lapel pins at a reception in their honour at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
He also announced the donation of a flat and a plot of land to each of them even as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, immediately distributed forms for land allocation to each player at a yet-to-be-disclosed location.
Tuesday’s encounter comes barely 48 hours after the Super Eagles unsuccessfully battled for the top spot at the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations against the host country, Côte d’Ivoire.
Tinubu acknowledged their role in fostering unity within the country through their remarkable performance and, despite finishing second, urged them to hold their heads high.
He emphasised the pride Nigerians felt in the Super Eagles’ remarkable journey throughout the competition, saying, “It is a great honour for me to receive you, our Super Eagles. As a team, you taught us lessons on resilience, togetherness, diversity, and excitement in competitive games. You started the tournament as if Nigeria would not assert itself, but you progressed to the finals.
“Through all the challenges and dealing with great humidity in the host country, you left your clubs and honoured your country. You gave us great excitement. You were determined.
“We salute your resilience. You lifted our spirits, and you made us proud. You made us smile as Nigerians… you have done a great job, and I am very proud of you.”
President Tinubu pledged to continue investing in sports and youth development, affirming, “As your President, I will go out to attract greater private sector investment in the Nigerian Professional Football League.
“We have to grow our local league, and I promise to be a super promoter of sports in our country. Many of you may in the future become managers of our local premiership system.”
On his part, the Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh, lauded the President for creating a separate Ministry of Sports Development.
“For the first time, we have gone through a major competition; we have come back without any crisis, without any complaint, without any issues whatsoever relating to allowances, bonuses or whatever. This kept the team focused on the matches in front of them with quality results,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the team, the Vice-Captain, Mr. William Troost-Ekong, promised to work hard to surpass their achievements by winning the gold medal in the next competition.
“We are very grateful for your support during our time in Ivory Coast. We did our best until the final. I wish that we were here carrying the trophy for you.
“In 2019, I was here with a bronze medal. Now, we are here with a silver medal. I have two gold-medal winners beside me here and all we can promise is that we will continue to work hard, and the next time we meet, hopefully, next year, we will be bringing home a gold medal,” the Vice-Captain said.
Meanwhile, the national team captain, Ahmed Musa, appealed to Super Eagles fans to quit bullying the team’s midfielder, Alex Iwobi, following Nigeria’s loss to Côte d’Ivoire at the finals.
Musa said, “We know that we are very disappointed with the result, but we can do nothing about this. That’s what happens in football. So now we have to go back and work ahead for the next AFCON, and we have a couple more games for the World Cup qualifiers, which is more important.
“Yeah, for our colleagues, I don’t think he deserves what he is getting now because I think we have done our nation proud. But with what we saw on social media, if you want to attack, just attack all the team, not individual players.”
Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro, has said that in his 60 years alive, Nigeria’s President Tinubu is the first head of state to host him.
While expressing his appreciation to Nigeria’s President, he Portuguese football manager said, “First of all I like to say thank you to the President. I am 60 years old, this is the first time some president has invited me to his house.
“It is an honour and a pride to me and I thank the President of the Republic of Nigeria for the invitation to me.”
Commenting on the AFCON Finals, Peseiro stated, “I think we did a fantastic job, our team showed very good spirit and played well. My boys did 100 percent, same for my staff and the NFF (Nigeria Football Federation), and everybody.
“Of course, I would have liked to bring the cup to the Nigerian people; I’m sad about that. But of course, I’m happy because I think we did a fantastic job. In the final, I think we felt that atmosphere.”
