Senate rewards Flamingos with N100m for historic World Cup triumph

The Nigerian Senate has approved a N100 million reward for the country’s Under-17 women’s national football team, the Flamingos, following their historic victory at the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

The reward followed a call by Senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, for financial recognition of the young players during plenary on Tuesday.

Oshiomhole made the appeal while contributing to a motion moved by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Sports, Senator Abdul Ningi, seeking national recognition for the team.

The Flamingos made history on November 7 after defeating Japan 2-1 in the final played in Morocco, becoming the first African country to win the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

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Awawu Bashiru opened the scoring in the 39th minute before Oluebube Umejiaku doubled Nigeria’s lead two minutes into the second half. Japan scored a late consolation goal in the 79th minute.

Nigeria’s journey to the title began with a 2-1 defeat to Poland in their opening group match, but the team recovered to record six consecutive victories against Puerto Rico, defending champions DPR Korea, Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil and Japan.

Umejiaku also capped her impressive campaign by winning the Adidas Golden Ball award as the tournament’s best player.

The Senate’s financial reward adds to the national recognition following the Flamingos’ historic achievement.