Japanese Surgeon Donates $200,000 To Nigeria's Olympic Soccer Team

Source: pointblanknews.com

A benefactor is flying to Rio to hand $200,000 (£153,500) to the Nigerian

Olympic team, in addition to his promise to pay a $30,000 (£23,000) bonus

to each player if they win gold.
Japanese plastic surgeon Katsuya Takasu wants to reward the team after

hearing about their financial difficulties.
He will pay them $20,000 (£15,350) for silver and $10,000 (£7,680) for

bronze.
Takasu told BBC Sport the $200,000 “is a special donation” and “it is

better to deliver it to the team personally”.

He added: I’ve made previous donations to a Japanese hockey team and other

notable causes in the past but this right now with Nigeria is incredibly

passionate for me.
“I am deeply determined to motivate this indomitable and strong Nigerian

team. I don’t want to distract them but to push them further to their

target – the gold in Brazil.
“I hope to see them win gold. They’ve sacrificed a lot to get to Brazil

and reach the semi-finals. Humans with such a strong spirit should be

encouraged to perform beyond their own imagination.”

The Samson Siasia-led Nigeria team will face Germany in the semi-final on

Wednesday and they will be without their top scorer with four goals –

Ogenekaro Etebo – because of injury.
Before arriving in Rio, the ‘Dream Team VI’ were held up in Atlanta, USA,

because of a problem with the payment for their flight.

The 1996 Olympic champions only landed in Brazil just hours before their

opening 5-4 win over Japan.
Nigeria had a troubled build-up to their 2-0 quarter-final victory against

Denmark in Salvador last weekend – the players boycotted a training

session in a dispute over pay.
“I read about the financial problems affecting the team and I felt the

need to make a big contribution,” Takasu told BBC Sport.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are impressed by Takasu’s offers but

are being careful.
“I have been in direct contact with Mr Takasu and impressed by his

gesture,” NFF vice-president Seyi Akinwunmi told BBC Sport.

“But we need not get carried away because the integrity of the country is

at stake.
“First we must check about this. Significantly, the team has an important

game and we need to focus on that.”
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Olympic team have now received their camp

allowances from the government, according to the team’s media officer Timi

Ebikagboro.
“The sports ministry has cleared all camp allowances of the team in Brazil.

“Players and officials have now been paid 22 days allowances,” said

Ebikagboro.
BBC
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