Sports Ministry Clarifies Cash Rewards for Nigeria’s U-20 Medalists

The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development (FMY&SD) has given further clarifications to the announcement of cash rewards to medal winning Team Nigeria athletes at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya.

FMY&SD said the clarification became necessary following enquiries about the NCAA status of some of the country’s beneficiaries who are still in colleges in America.

According to the Ministry, “We know about the NCAA regulations and we won’t want any of these young and promising talents, who are our hopes for the future, to breach the rules as it affects the rewards we announced,” stressed the statement.

As such, “the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development would hold the cash rewards in trust for those affected by the NCAA regulations while the others not affected by it would be handed their rewards,” the statement concluded.

Nigeria’s U-20 track and field athletes rewrote the history of country’s participation at the biennial World Athletics U20 championships, finishing third on the final medals table with an unprecendented haul of four gold and three bronze medals in Nairobi, Kenya.

It is the highest feat Nigeria has ever recorded on the medals table. Prior to the just ended event in Kenya, Nigeria achieved her seventh place finish at the third edition of the championships in 1990 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria where they won two gold, two silver and two bronze medals.