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By Emma Njoku
Ex-Super Falcons players are banking on the Chairman and Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC) Mallam Shehu Dikko and Bukola Olapade, respectively, to prevail upon the Federal Government to reward them many years after winning the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
Spokesperson of ex-Super Falcons Worldwide, Patience Avre-Odeli, said they had received encouragement from Dikko and Olapade in separate dialogues with the NSC bigwigs after President Bola Tinubu hosted and rewarded the current Super Falcons and D’Tigress players who recently won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco and the Afro Basketball Championship in Cote d’Ivoire, respectively.
Avre-odeli, who was a member of the Super Falcons’ squads that won the Africa Women’s Championship (AWC), now WAFCON, in addition to featuring at the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Olympic Games, said both Dikko and Olapade were in support of the ex-Falcons’ appeal to President Tinubu to compensate them for bringing honours to the country.
“Ex-Falcons Worldwide cannot thank Mr President enough. He and the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, have brought a new lease of life to sports generally, and God will bless the Presidency. Most of us did our best, but the previous governments did not honour us after winning nine African titles.
“We shed sweat and blood, but there’s nothing to show for it all. Some ex-Super Falcons have died and others are battling with injuries sustained while on national duty.
Many are jobless while others are facing serious economic hardship after serving Nigeria for several years. Both Dikko and Olapade were so touched by the sad stories of most of us that they promised to make a case for us at the Presidency. We trust them to convey our plights to President Tinubu and the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu”, said the United States of America based Patience Avre-Odeli after a recent meeting with Kikelomo Ajayi, Prisca Emeafu, Judith Chime Kamala, Martha Tarhemba, Ayi, Rachel Asabor, and Stella Mbachu, among others.
