Celebrities In Charity Walk For Super Falcons

About 1000 Lagosians including politicians and television personalities staged a walk around the streets of Lagos yesterday in support of Nigeria's senior national women's team, the Super Falcons.

The Falcons are currently on national assignment in Germany where they are participating with 15 other teams in the Women's World Cup. They play Germany tomorrow in their second group game.

The Female Football Foundation (FFF), a non-governmental organisation devoted to the development of women's football in Nigeria, convened by Baarong Tony-Uranta, a journalist and television presenter and which has Bola Jegede, a former member of the board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) organised the walk to draw attention to draw attention to what they believe is the second class treatment meted to the Falcons despite their achievements since being founded twenty-one years ago.

Comprising female footballers, who turned out in their hundreds and celebrities, which included Jimi Agbaje, a former governorship candidate in Lagos State, Patrick Doyle and Agatha Amatha, television personalities, the group, which also had among them, Jarret Tenebe, chairman of the rebel Nigeria Football Association claiming leadership of Nigerian football and Harrison Jalla, president of the National Association of Nigerian Footballers, marched to the office of the governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, where they hoped to present their case to the governor.

As it turned the governor was unavailable. Instead members of the FFF were met by members of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

Rams for slaughter

Tony Uranta, husband of the convener of the foundation, Barong Tony Uranta, drew the attention of the legislators to the discriminatory treatment suffered by Super Falcons players in terms of match allowances and bonuses and general treatment. He added that the players are sexually harassed all the time with nobody ever punished by the authorities.

He told the law makers that whereas members of the Super Eagles each get $10,000 as winning bonus, the Falcons get less than $1,000 despite having achieved much in Africa.

"The Falcons have won the African Women's Nations Cup six out of seven times but they get nothing. The last time they won the trophy, they were ferried in a truck like goats and rams meant for the slaughter house. None of them have been given houses or national awards. I think they deserve more than what they are getting," he said.

Speaking in a similar vein, Jegede, president of the foundation, said the walk was organised to seek the assistance of the Lagos State government to support the efforts of the foundation at improving the lot of women footballers in the country.

Responding, Sina Agunbiade, who represented Adeyemi Ikuforiji, the speaker of the house, said the house would the grievances of the FFF today at a special session. He noted that the issues raised by the foundation were germane to the development of women's football in Nigeria and as such would be treated under the rubric of 'urgent public importance'. He said thereafter the house would recommend solutions to Governor Fashola for execution.

Source:
234Next