Ndidi, a defensive midfielder, currently dons the jersey of Leicester City in the English Premier League (EPL)
By Kehinde Okeowo
Leicester City midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi has rewarded the Flying Eagles of Nigeria with the sum of N5 million, following their hard-earned 2-1 victory over Cote d’Ivoire at the WAFU B U-20 Championship on Thursday.
Nigeria came from behind to edge a flaming battle with Cote d’Ivoire in a game played in Lome, the capital of Togo.
The Ivorians broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute, but Clinton Jephta restored parity for Nigeria before Kparobo Arierhi scored the winning goal, which secured a 2-1 win for the Flying Eagles.
The narrow win ensured that the Nigerian team booked their place in the semi-final of the competition.
Aliyu Zubairu’s side will now battle Niger Republic on Saturday (today) for a place in the final.
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Speaking after the team edged past their West African counterpart, Flying Eagles media officer, Sharif Abdallah, disclosed that Ndidi gave N5 million to the team on Friday.
Prior to his gesture, the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, had given N2 million to the team for defeating the Ivorians and qualifying for semi-final.
The team also received N1.5 million from the chairman of Crystal Sapphire Ltd, Frank Peters, while a member of the football family, Victor Apugo, Switzerland-based Nigerian coach, Adedeji Adeyemi Anthony and Mavlon FC chairman, Kenneth Agadugba all rewarded the team for qualifying to the next stage.
Meanwhile, today’s semi-final against Niger Republic will kick off at 4pm at the Stade Municipal.
A win in the game will guarantee the Flying Eagles a spot at the 2025 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations, which will be hosted by South Africa.
Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire will also try to clinch the second final spot when they clash in the other semi-final.