The
dust raised by the donation from a Japanese doctor, Katsuya Takasu, to the
Nigeria U-23 team for their exploit at the Rio Olympics may have been finally
settled.
That indication emerged
following the circulation of a picture of the Japanese doctor handing cheques
to the duo of Mikel Obi, who is the captain of the team, as well as the Head
Coach Samson Siasia.
The plastic surgeon cum
football enthusiast made a pledge, totaling $390,000.
Earlier on Saturday, a
former Super Eagles goalkeeper and football analyst, Peterside Idah, had raised
the alarm that Nigeria Football Federation officials had hijacked the donation
made by the Japanese doctor.
The NFF denied the allegation.
Mr.Idah later confirmed
that Mr. Takasu had made the donation directly to the beneficiaries at their
hotel.
“All is well,” Mr Idah
tweeted. “Two cheques have just been handed over to the team. One in Samson
Siasia’s name, and the other made out to the name of Mikel.”
In an earlier
interview, Mr. Takasu said he made the donation to the players after hearing
about their financial crisis.
“I read
about the financial problems affecting the team and I felt the need to make a
big contribution,” Mr. Takasu told the BBC earlier this week.
The Nigeria U-23 have
hugged the headlines on and off the pitch as they braved all odds to make a
podium finish at the Olympics.
Continually referred to
as ‘miracle workers’ by their coach, the Dream Team VI surprised many with
their performance in the face of daunting challenges which included arriving
barely hours to their first match in Rio.
The 3-2 win over
Honduras on Saturday ensured that Nigeria won its first medal since after the
Beijing 2008 Olympics.
-Premium Times
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