Sports
MATCHDAY: Dalung pledges $10,000 for Falconets to beat China
Nigeria women’s national youth football team, the Falconets, will be playing against their Chinese counterparts at the ongoing FIFA U-20 World Cup today (Monday).
The Christopher Danjuma-led squad kicked off their campaign with a disappointing 1-0 loss to three-time champions Germany, but revived their hopes of reaching the quarterfinals with a 1-0 victory in their second match against Haiti.
Standing on equal points with China but with a better goals difference in Group D, Falconets will need at least a draw to advance to the last 8 of the competition.
In bid to boost the team’s morale, Minister of Youth and Sports, Barr. Solomon Dalung, has promised to give $10,000 to the team – asides their other entitlements – if they emerge victorious on Monday.
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“I believe that the Falconets have been well motivated for Monday’s game against China and I’ve been assured by the players that they will play out their hearts to get a quarter final ticket,” the Minister said in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media.
“Like I earlier promised, all your entitlements will be offset soon but you will get a personal token of $10,000 from me if you beat China on Monday.
“On behalf of the His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari and the good people of Nigeria, I wish you a successful outing against China on Monday.”
The Falconets will be hoping to reach the quarterfinal for the seventh time in their 9th appearance of the tournament.
They reached the final on two occasions, in 2010 and in 2014, and would also hope to repeat same feat – and go one step further.
The game against China is billed to hold at the Stade de Clos Gastel in France by 3:30p.m (Nigeria time).
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