Team Dinner

Save-A-Thon is about creating relationships between young women in Africa and the USA. Through these relationships we hope the women will inspire and be there for each other over the course of their lives as they make goals and work to accomplish them. We really aren’t all that different and once we understand that bridges our formed and lives are changed.

All four teams arrived via bus taxis the night before the Cup and we planned a little VIP dinner at our hotel. We hoped to do the dinner around 5:30 or so and had it all arranged by the hotel chef. Will it surprise you to hear that due to traffic in Lagos the players didn’t arrive until nearly 10PM! The food was kept warm for us and it was fun to watch the teams interact and get to know each other. Due to their VERY late arrival we didn’t have nearly as much time as we would have liked but everyone had a great time.

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Super Falcons FG release N358M for salaries, bonuses

The sum was paid by the CBN on Thursday, December 16 with a statement signed by the Accountant General of the Federation.

The Federal Government of Nigeria have released N358M for the payment of Super Falcons.

The Super Falcons have been dominating headlines all week as they took to the streets to protest the non-payment of their salaries and bonuses after their successful 

Following the protest, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the immediate payment of the players which has now been made.

According to several reports, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation has released the mandate to Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for payment of $1,173,820 (N358M) (at $1=N305) to Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to pay the Super Falcons.

The sum was paid by the CBN on Thursday, December 16 with a statement signed by the Accountant General of the Federation.

Another N113.8m have been approved to pay the Super Eaglesfor their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match bonuses.

Buhari ordered the immediate payment of the owed salaries and allowances of the Super Falcons after they took to the streets on Wednesday, December 14.

The players marched to the National Assembly complex to meet President Buhari who was to present the 2017 budget that day.

The President sent his Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari to speak to the players where they were promised to be paid in two days.

After second thought, President Buhari ordered for their immediate payment as he was embarrassed by the protests.

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Super Falcons Sports Ministry 'invested' players' salaries in Treasury Bills [Pulse Exclusive]

Pulse Sports have learned that the money allocated to the Sports Ministry to pay the Super Falcons have been invested in Treasury Bills.

As the Super Falcons unpaid salaries and allowance drama continues, Pulse Sports have learned that the Sports Ministry invested money meant to pay the players onTreasury Bills.

After a nine-day sit-in protest at the Agura Hotel, Abuja, the Super Falcons took to the streets over their unpaid bonuses and salaries following their successful 2016 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations.

Pulse Sports have learned that the money allocated to the Sports Ministry to pay the Super Falcons have been invested in Treasury Bills.

According to top sources, the money (specific sum unknown) was used to buy Treasury Bills with a new generation bank which will mature in February 2017.

How do Treasury bills work?

Treasury Bills (T-bills) are a type of government securities issued on behalf of the Federal Government by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to control the money supply in the economy.

T-Bills are short term securities issued at a discount for a tenor (duration of the investment) ranging from 91 to 364 days, and they don’t yield interest.

If you buy T-bills worth of N500, 000 at 10 per cent discount rate, CBN will debit your account with N450, 000, leaving a balance of N50, 000.

“This means that your interest of N50, 000 has been paid to you upfront. When your investment matures, you are still paid your N500, 000. This shows that you were actually paid N550, 000 for your investment of N500, 000”, writes Practical Business Ideas, a business development website.

How can we prove this?

While Pulse Sports source is 100% reliable, this is hard to prove considering the fact that the Sports Ministry will never admit to this.

Amidst the protest, sports minister, Solomon Dalung said the federal government did not expect the super falcons to win the 2016 AWCON which is why they have not been paid.

“Don’t forget that nobody even knew the team will emerge victoriously,” Dalung told Punch.

 “If we were confident they will emerge victoriously, all the federation would have done is to plan for the process of participation and entitlement.”

So this is how we interpret this; "if we anticipated that the Super Falcons would win the AWCON title, we wouldn’t have invested their money in Treasury Bills.”

According to our sources in the bank, top officials of Federal Ministries fix money all the time - people's salaries, bonuses etc - but this is the first time money for a sports team is being used.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have also shifted all the blame of the unpaid salary drama to the Sports Ministry, claiming to have sent a memo requesting for funds five months ago.

“The memo was sent to the Ministry about five months ago, at the same time that we made the request for the Super Eagles match against Algeria in Uyo,” a top NFF official told Kwase Sports.

“When the Super Falcons were about to leave for Cameroon, we were told by the Ministry that they could not find our memo, so we had to prepare the second one. That one was sent in on November 2."

The Sports Ministry could not be reached as at the time of this report.

Pulse Sports sent an email which has not been responded while the Personal Assistant to the Sports Minister, Nneka Ikem did not respond to our calls.  

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Asisat Oshoala Super Falcons star nominated for 2016 CAF Women's Player of the Year

The winner will be announced on Thursday, January 5, 2017, at the Glo-CAF Awards night in Abuja

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Just a week after winning the 2016 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations title with the Super Falcons, Nigeria internationalAsisat Oshoala has been nominated for this year’s Women’s Player of the Year.

In the nominations released on Sunday, December 11, Oshoala makes the list alongside Elizabeth Addo (Ghana &Kvarnsvedensik), Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene (Cameroon &Rossiyanka), Janine Van Wyk (South Africa & JVW) andRaissa Feudjio Tchuanyo (Cameroon & Aland United).

Last year winner of the CAF Women's Player of the Year award, Cameroon’s Gaëlle Enganamouit is not included in the list.

The winner will be announced on Thursday, January 5, 2017, at the Glo-CAF Awards night in Abuja.

Oshoala will be aiming for her second CAF Women's Footballer of the Year award following her win in 2014.

In the year under review, the 22-year-old won the Women’s FA Cup with Arsenal Ladies and also the 2016 AWON title.

The forward also won the golden boot at the 2016 AWCON with six goals.

https://twitter.com/CAF_Online/status/807888746729324544/photo/1

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Super Falcons Breakdown of the N12.3M owed to each member of the team

This is the breakdown of the $25,650, each of the Super Falcons players is being owed from the 2016 AWCON

The Super Falcons of Nigeria are currently in a sit-in protest at the Agura Hotel, Abuja over the non-payment of allowances and bonuses.

Following their victorious outing at the 2016 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON), the Super Falcons have seized the trophy until they are paid their entitlements by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

 

 

They are even planning to take to the streets in protest if President Muhammadu Buhari does not address their situation very soon.

According to sources, each member of the Super Falcons is being owed the sum of NN12.3M ($25,650).

This is the breakdown.

Qualifiers 

The win and draw in the two legged play-offs against Senegal earned each member of the team $5,250.

Camping

The Super Falcons camped for 43 days and 35 days respectively for the AWCON qualifiers and tournament proper. For that, each of the players is owed N1, 000 daily for these days in camp.  

Each player also earned $100 camp allowance over the 14-day they stayed in Cameroon for the AWCON.

AWCON

A win in the group stage of the AWCON guaranteed each member of the Super Falcons $3,500 and $1, 750 for a draw.

The Super Falcons won two games, which means each player is to get $7,000 for the two wins (against Mali and Kenya). 

  

For the draw against Ghana, the players are to be paid $1,750 each.

The Semi-final final victory over South Africa earned them $4,000 each and the win in the final earned them $5,000 each. 

Emergency payment in Cameroon

We were told that the Super Falcons players were each paid the sum of N500, 000 in Cameroon after they threatened to boycott the final of the AWCON.

The coaches each received N400,000.

The NFF, however, did not reveal what the payments were for.

NB: $1=N485

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Nigeria Vs Algeria Super Eagles fly out to Uyo ahead of clash

The Super Eagles and some members of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) flew out to Uyo on Thursday, November 10.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria flew out to Uyo from Abuja for their 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Algeria.

Nigeria face Algeria on Saturday, November 18 in the matchday two of the qualifiers in Uyo.two of the qualifiers in Uyo.

  Super Eagles arrive Uyo ahead of clash with Algeria (Twitter/Promise Etim)

Ahead of the clash, the Super Eagles and some members of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) flew out to Uyo on Thursday, November 10.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria have been camped in Abuja ahead of the qualifiers.

Leon Balogun and Alex Iwobi arrive Uyo with the Super Eagles (Twitter/Promise Etim)

They based at the Bolton White Hotels and Apartments in Abuja and trained at the National Stadium.

John Mikel Obi (Twitter)

On arrival, the Super Eagles will hold a media parley at 12pm on Thursday at Le Meridien Hotel, Uyo before their evening training session at 4pm which is closed to the media and the general public.

Nigeria lead the group with three points, Algeria and Cameroon joint-second with a point each while Zambia are bottom with zero points.

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Real Madrid the perfect club for me

The 27-year-old was speaking for the first time since he extended his contract with the Spanish La Liga club until June 2022.

Moving to Real Madrid has made Gareth Bale a better person and lived up to all his expectations, the Welsh winger said on Monday.

The 27-year-old was speaking for the first time since he extended his contract with the Spanish La Liga club until June 2022.

"Real Madrid is the biggest club in the world," Bale told a news conference.

"I definitely made the right decision. Real matches all my ambitions. It's been three great seasons. I hope there are six more years like this. I feel very happy and loved here."

Bale joined Real for a then world-record fee of 100 million euros ($110 million) in 2013 from Tottenham Hotspur and has since won the Champions League twice and the King's Cup once.

"When I first arrived, I wanted to win trophies and succeed," Bale said. "I wanted to improve my football and my game. It has changed me as a person.

"I've experienced great moments. Winning the Champions League for this club is the pinnacle."

After his first season in Madrid, Bale was reported to be unsettled at the club and he was linked with a return to the Premier League.

"It has been a difficult journey," Bale said. "It's difficult for British players to play in European clubs.

"It has been a learning curve but I've enjoyed every experience.

"It takes more character to stay, to fight and find a way to make things work than to leave."

Bale has made 135 appearances in all competitions for Real, scoring 62 goals.

He netted 19 goals and set up 10 more in 30 appearances last season before helping Wales reach the Euro 2016 semi-finals and he is among 30 players in the running to be named FIFA's player of the year.

"It's never been a personal goal to win it," Bale said.

"I'm not striving for it. But if you play well for your club and country and win trophies, things will happen naturally," he added.

"Last season was my best. It's all about giving 100 per cent and each year you have to improve and work hard. As long as you do that you cannot have any regrets."

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Barcelona will punish City errors, warns Enrique

Barcelona, with three wins from three games in Group C, can secure progress to the knockout phase at the Etihad

Barcelona will put Manchester City to the sword if they commit the same kind of errors as they did in their Champions League encounter last month, coach Luis Enrique has said.

After a slip by Fernandinho allowed Lionel Messi to open the scoring in Barca's 4-0 win over City at the Nou Camp, goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was sent off early in the second half after handling the ball outside the box.

"If you make errors, you pay dearly. In that way I expect the same type of game as the last one. I expect the same script in terms of the match," Enrique told reporters.

"We only know how to play in one way and that is to go to win. If they leave spaces behind we can take advantage of those. We have a great squad and I have confidence in my players."

Enrique is aware of the threat posed by Sergio Aguero, who was left out of the clash at Barca, but said his team would not change their approach for the Argentine.

"I don't think we have to talk too much about Aguero — we know how well he plays. We know how good he is and how easy it is for him to score goals. But the way we approach in a general sense doesn't change," he added.

Barcelona, with three wins from three games in Group C, can secure progress to the knockout phase at the Etihad on Tuesday, while City could be knocked out of second spot by Borussia Moenchengladbach, who host Celtic.

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Giggs, Neville United greats to bring football cafes, hotels to Asia

The first Cafe Football opened in London in 2013, followed by a second near Old Trafford in 2015.

Manchester United greats Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville have teamed up with a Singaporean billionaire to open football-themed cafes and hotels in Asia, a spokesperson for the tycoon said Wednesday.

The two sportsmen and Peter Lim, owner of Spain's Valencia football club and Singapore-based property developer Rowsley Ltd, are looking at opening the first Cafe Football outlet in Asia in 2017, the spokesperson said.

Neville told Bloomberg News the outlet will be in Singapore.

"We've had fantastic reviews in Manchester, and we are looking for a U.K., Europe and Asian expansion over the next 12 to 18 months to add multiple properties," he said.

Neville told Singapore's Straits Times that the trio would also look at expanding Hotel Football across Asia.

"We have an aggressive roll-out plan for Hotel Football, looking to over 5,000 new rooms over the next five to 10 years. We already have discussions in India, China, Thailand, and Malaysia, as well as other parts of the UK," he said.

Rowsley announced in September that the company will open its third Cafe Football at the National Football Museum in Manchester later this year.

The first Cafe Football opened in London in 2013, followed by a second near Manchester United's home ground Old Trafford in 2015.

In July, Neville and Giggs unveiled plans for a multimillion-pound development in Manchester city centre, including a 200-bed hotel, two skyscrapers and a synagogue.

Neville, a former England full-back, said the project would create 1,300 jobs and regenerate a historic part of the northwestern English city.

Welsh football legend Giggs recently left his assistant manager's role at Manchester United following the arrival of former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.

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