African Junior Championship: Athletes groan over allowances, kits

…indict government for over pampering football

With few days to the 12th edition of the African Junior Championship in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Nigerian athletes in camp have cried out over non-payment of their allowances.
When New Telegraph visited their Sagamu camp on February 18, the athletes decried the deplorable condition of their camp while also revealing that they had not been paid their allowances since the start of the camping exercise two weeks ago.
But another visit to the camp on Wednesday February 25 revealed that the situation
remained the same as the athletes and the officials were yet to receive a dime as camp allowance. Some of the athletes who spoke with our correspondent said they were not expecting anything until the competition starts.
According to them, they were also not paid despite spending three months in camp last year in preparation for the World Youth Championship. “We are not expecting anything from them, we experienced similar situation last year, so we are already getting used to it,” one of the athletes who craved anonymity said.
The athletes further revealed that they were not expecting more than $400 dollars as competition allowance with the daily allowance expected to be pegged at $50 for the eight-day event. Investigation by New Telegraph revealed that players of the national U-20 football team, the Flying Eagles have been receiving daily allowances since their camp opened late last year.
“Seriously there is no respect for athlet in Nigeria, if the footballers blink, the country must answer them immediately, but reverse is the case with other sports,” the athlete continued.
“The junior team is equivalent of the Flying Eagles but the treatment is not the same. We have been sweating blood here in camp, but yet to get anything. “We don’t know if the National Sports Commission has released the money for the tournament or not and nobody is telling us anything.”
Another athlete confided in our correspondent that he was unable to have his hair cut due to lack of money. According to him, he had exhausted the money he came to camp with. For some of the officials, they were still part of the game because of their passion for athletics and belief that things will get better.
However, the athletes also revealed that the situation in camp has improved in some area since our correspondent’s last visit. The athletes said they now have electricity in camp although it has been erratic but they were yet to have kits as they still move about in coat of many colours.

“Kits in camp is crucial because that is the only thing to show we are national athletes. You can’t have this case in football, kits are waiting for the players from their first day in camp,” the athletes lamented.