A benefactor is flying to Rio to hand $200,000 (\u00a3153,500) to the Nigerian
\nOlympic team, in addition to his promise to pay a $30,000 (\u00a323,000) bonus
\nto each player if they win gold.<\/p>\n
Japanese plastic surgeon Katsuya Takasu wants to reward the team after
\nhearing about their financial difficulties.<\/p>\n
He will pay them $20,000 (\u00a315,350) for silver and $10,000 (\u00a37,680) for
\nbronze.<\/p>\n
Takasu told BBC Sport the $200,000 “is a special donation” and “it is
\nbetter to deliver it to the team personally”.<\/p>\n
He added: I’ve made previous donations to a Japanese hockey team and other
\nnotable causes in the past but this right now with Nigeria is incredibly
\npassionate for me.<\/p>\n
“I am deeply determined to motivate this indomitable and strong Nigerian
\nteam. I don’t want to distract them but to push them further to their
\ntarget – the gold in Brazil.<\/p>\n
“I hope to see them win gold. They’ve sacrificed a lot to get to Brazil
\nand reach the semi-finals. Humans with such a strong spirit should be
\nencouraged to perform beyond their own imagination.”
\nThe Samson Siasia-led Nigeria team will face Germany in the semi-final on
\nWednesday and they will be without their top scorer with four goals –
\nOgenekaro Etebo – because of injury.<\/p>\n
Before arriving in Rio, the ‘Dream Team VI’ were held up in Atlanta, USA,
\nbecause of a problem with the payment for their flight.<\/p>\n
The 1996 Olympic champions only landed in Brazil just hours before their
\nopening 5-4 win over Japan.<\/p>\n
Nigeria had a troubled build-up to their 2-0 quarter-final victory against
\nDenmark in Salvador last weekend – the players boycotted a training
\nsession in a dispute over pay.<\/p>\n
“I read about the financial problems affecting the team and I felt the
\nneed to make a big contribution,” Takasu told BBC Sport.<\/p>\n
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are impressed by Takasu’s offers but
\nare being careful.<\/p>\n
“I have been in direct contact with Mr Takasu and impressed by his
\ngesture,” NFF vice-president Seyi Akinwunmi told BBC Sport.<\/p>\n
“But we need not get carried away because the integrity of the country is
\nat stake.<\/p>\n
“First we must check about this. Significantly, the team has an important
\ngame and we need to focus on that.”<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Olympic team have now received their camp
\nallowances from the government, according to the team’s media officer Timi
\nEbikagboro.<\/p>\n
“The sports ministry has cleared all camp allowances of the team in Brazil.<\/p>\n
“Players and officials have now been paid 22 days allowances,” said
\nEbikagboro.
\nBBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A benefactor is flying to Rio to hand $200,000 (\u00a3153,500) to the Nigerian Olympic team, in addition to his promise to pay a $30,000 (\u00a323,000) bonus to each player if…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52391,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n