The Nigeria Pillar of Sports Chief Donatus Agu Ejidike has applauded the Super Eagles of Nigeria for their epic qualification for the AFCON final in Cote d’Ivoire.
On Wednesday night, the Super Eagles of Nigeria defeated a hard-fighting Bafana Bafana of South Africa via a penalty shoot-out (4-2) to pick the final ticket.
Speaking after watching the match with some soccer enthusiasts, and some newsmen, in Ilorin, Kwara State, the elated Sports philanthropist praised the commitment. The disciplined exhibited by the Eagles to achieve success in an encounter the Anambra-born Sports philanthropist describes as gritty.
He charged them to double their efforts as they faced a much tougher challenge in the final.
As part of his motivation for the Super Eagles to bring the trophy to Nigeria, the Pillar of Sports who is also the Patron of the Nigerian Football Supporters Club (NFSC), promised to dole out one million naira (₦1million) for every goal scored by the Eagles in the regulation time of the final match, come Sunday.
Chief Ejidike commended the federal government, the Ministry of Sports Development, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and all Football stakeholders in the country, for standing strong behind the Super Eagles to excel, while also urging them to do more to see the team through to becoming the African champions for the fourth time.
He hailed the José Peseiro-tutored lads, for digging deep against a good and resilient South African team, in a match in which African grit, perseverance and stamina were on display. The match was so keenly contested that, it ended 1-1 after 120 minutes of robust contest between the two sides. Nigeria won the penalty shootout, by 4-2.
The Super Eagles have never lost an AFCON match against the boys from the Rainbow Nation. The team is also, yet to lose a match in the ongoing AFCON, and possesses one of the meanest defences, conceding just two goals so far – one against Equatorial Guinea, and the other against South Africa on Wednesday.
