The use of rewards as motivation is as old as the history of sports. Theorists and practitioners have felt the extrinsic rewards and intrinsic motivation were addictive, hence monetary and other rewards have long been used informally to control performance. Yet in view of the recent largesse showered on Nigeria’s national men’s soccer team, the Super Eagles, stakeholders believe it’s about time for an all-inclusive sustainable reward system for athletes across sports; from football to judo and from athletics to wrestling, amongst others, write MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN and TUNDE LIADI.
Straight from the Shakespearean legend, there were so much comets seen for the Super Eagles for nearly winning the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations recently concluded in Cote d’Ivoire, after the Federal Government rolled out the drums to celebrate their silver-winning efforts.
Apart from flat gifts in Abuja, the players as well as their accompanied officials received national honours alongside landed properties in the Federal Capital city. For many, this was rather too much and not in consonance with what used to be a term of reference, even in the ancient Greece where shields and wreaths were used as rewards for athletes.
Besides, many further queried the fact that football is being accorded too much within the Nigerian sport eco-system, to the detriment of other athletes across other sporting endeavours, as far as dolling out rewards and ribbons at the end of major championships or tournaments.
But foremost broadcast journalist, Deji Omotoyinbo, has canvassed for a model reward system that is acceptable and embraced by all the sports, including football, adding that such reward system should be graded based on performance and the magnitude of the competition.
“I don’t have anything against any reward the government wishes to give to athletes, but I believe it should be standardised,” Omotoyinbo told NationSport. “Give the same reward across all sports and not just football, so no set of athletes are made to feel inferior to others. Grade the reward system along the lines of continental, international and global titles if you like, but all athletes must get the same reward based on graded performances.”
Between Team Nigeria and Super Eagles
But former Nigeria international Edema Fuludu, a member of the team that won the AFCON in 1994, affirmed that rewarding athletes that excelled at competitions would serve as impetus for other athletes to give their best, knowing that they would be recognised as such if they are victorious.
He also added that government gets good public relations, perceptions and more popularity when athletes are rewarded as due.
“First, reward encourages athletes to want to be the best and also serves as incentives to those who want to get involved actively in sports, but the reward system is a different kettle of fish,” Fuludu said in an interview. He added that it would be pretentious to compare football to other sports in respect of what is given as rewards at the end of a major championship.
He continued: “Those who reward also get mileage from rewarding either political or socio- political. Government will reward to prop up political image, especially if it has a low rating with public opinion.
“Therefore, I think any reward system should endeavour to evaluate properly whether it is commensurate with standard. It is not about how much money is doled out but the level of recognition.
“I understand that football has always been the king of sports, generally speaking. However, second place can never be first place. Second is failure compared to first and cannot be celebrated as if it is first, period.
“I am of the opinion that other sports should get quality reward if athletes excel in major competitions. The recommended reward should be good financial take away and recognition as in a hall of fame, for example.
“But those who are clamouring for the same reward with footballers should know that their sports do not elicit public enjoyment and outcry like football,” added the former BCC Lions player.
He noted that the federal government was not properly guided in the reward accorded to the Super Eagles, who came second at the 2023 AFCON, adding that government should therefore extend the same olive branch to other sports that put the country’s map in the limelight in international competitions.
Between AFCON and Africa Games
Speaking in the same vein, President of Nigeria Wrestling Federation (NWF), Daniel Igali, said the federal government would make a whole lot of difference to the athletes at the ongoing 2023 African Games in Ghana by offering them similar recognition as much as the silver medal-winning Super Eagles at the recently held AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire.
Igali noted that most athletes from other sports are finding it difficult to make ends meet and should be rewarded after they worked hard under very tough conditions to win laurels for Nigeria.
He stated that his six female wrestlers who won six gold medals across six categories did that without any budgetary provisions from the government and thus should be commended for braving the odds to achieve the unexpected.
“It beats my imagination how we rob the poor to feed the rich. Imagine our footballers from the group stage to the final they got over 10 million dollars. Most of the athletes at this African Games in Ghana live on mostly N50,000 or N60,000 per month. Even the ones employed by their state government,” Igali told NationSport.
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“Yet you give those multi-millionaires houses in Abuja, plots of land and national honours for winning a silver medal and now we have our athletes who have won gold medals in Africa.
“President Tinubu has set a precedent and it must be extended to every other athletes. We cannot have sports on a different radar. You can’t tell me football is more important than any other sports. Our footballers are also here and we see how they are struggling winning and losing matches just like every other athlete.”
He said the golden silver medal won by Blessing Oborodudu in Wrestling for Nigeria at the last Olympic Games three years ago would bring about needed changes with the federal government shifting its focus to the sport, but that the reverse has been the case.
Igali called on government to pay more than the usual attention to wrestling by giving a grand reception to the wrestlers as well as other Team Nigeria’s medallists from the Africa Games in Ghana.
“Now we are going to celebrate these our athletes. Six wrestlers have won six gold medals. Is it because we camped for two weeks before going for this tournament? Is that what we are going to attribute this victory to?“ he asked rhetorically.
“We have all our priorities wrong. If the Wrestling Federation does not have a budget. We are going to look at some athletes whom we have groomed over the years and we milk them dry and the moment they are done, they are done.”
Similarly, President of Nigeria Weightlifting Federation, Dr. Abdul Ibrahim, said the federal government should handsomely reward athletes who have helped to propagate the image of the country positively in international competitions like they recently did for the Super Eagles.
“It is a welcome development for the government to reward athletes that have excelled for the nation because these athletes are helping to shape the image of the country and it is just normal that they are given the necessary encouragement,” Dr. Abdul told NationSport. “My weightlifters have performed beyond expectations and the 15 gold medals and other medals we have won are just testament of the hard work we have put in. We still believe we are going to win some more.
“I will like the government to appreciate the athletes who have worked so hard to be here. Training with all they have to get to the position they are currently.”
Kudos to President Tinubu
Nevertheless, US-based Olympian Prof. Sadiq A. Abdullahi was magnanimous in praises for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for raising the bar by rewarding the Super Eagles despite the fact that Nigeria’s national men’s soccer team only came second last month behind hosts Cote d’Ivoire at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
“Consistent with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s vision and mission for the sports and captured in the “Renewed Hope” agenda for the sports sector, the overarching goal is ‘to be the vehicle that brings back life and liveliness into Nigerian Sports so as to bring back the joy of following sports to families and become a source of national cohesion and livelihood for all who partake in sports’.
“Also, considering the economic and security challenges facing the nation and hardship faced by athletes, coaches and sports administrators, awarding athletes (and coaches) who won medals, will not only inspire them, it will renew hope and renew the spirit of nationalism and patriotism. The 2022-2026 National Sports Industry Policy (NSIP) proposed incentive package for the private sector, but yet to be implemented, to attract private sector investments. Rewarding athletes and coaches will also motivate them to be the conduits or change agents in the renewed hope process.”
Abdullahi, who doubles as President/CEO Sadiq Abdullahi Sports Enterprises, noted that the issue of rewarding athletes in Nigeria was nothing new but he canvassed for a sustainable rewards system for Nigerian athletes.
He further said: “A reward system is an incentive package aimed at motivating an athlete to perform before, during and after a competition. Both public and private organisations provide incentives. Historically, Nigerian athletes have been rewarded for winning medals at continental and international competitions, especially at the All Africa, Commonwealth and Olympics Games.
“Most incentives are monetary. Others are non-monetary, such as the National Award. Monetary and National Award are given to athletes who have met certain criteria, high standards and have shown good character on and off the field. Monetary award is the most appropriate for those who achieve podium success.
“Athletes compete in and practice sport for a variety of reasons. These reasons fall into the two major categories of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Athletes who are intrinsically motivated participate in sports for internal reasons, such as enjoyment; whereas athletes who are extrinsically motivated participate in sports for external reasons, such as material rewards. Other forms of incentives include scholarship, training and sports development grant, athletes’ insurance waiver, coaching grants, promotion or elevation at the workplace, and equipment and travel support to tournaments.”
Between half full and half empty
Yet the peculiar problem over the years is that there is no standard ‘scale of measurement’ as regards who gets what and for achieving what, as it’s been done in many climes.
While some countries have modelled reward systems for athletes across sports, many in Africa particularly, have long left it to the whims and caprices of their administrators.
For instance, in neighbouring Republic of Benin, athletes usually get just a certificate of recognition and sundry gifts according to one of the country’s foremost media managers, Elvis Dedjinou Zanclan.
“We don’t have a particular template for rewarding athletes, rather government issues letter of congratulations plus money and other gifts which they do according to their will,” the veteran Beninese journalist told NationSport. “Of course, footballers get more than other athletes.”
But in other places like Zambia, they have indeed achieved a standardised system of compensating athletes with similar package, irrespective of whether it is judo or football.
According to Elizabeth Chatuvela of Zambia Daily Mail, athletes from this southern African country get their just desserts equally.
“Yes, Zambia do rewards athletes from other disciplines aside football,” she told NationSports.
“The gold medalists (from the Olympics or African Games) are given US$5,000, with silver medalists getting US$4,000 and bronze medalists US$3,000 and footballers get US$5,000 (if they win the AFCON),” she added.
But Abdullahi believes the panache, as far as Nigeria is concerned, would be to follow to the letter the guidelines already set by the federal government through the Federal Ministry of Sports Development, where a template for awarding monetary and national wards to athletes, who won medals at continental and international competitions such as the All Africa Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics Games, has already been created.
Sports Performance Reward Fund Needed
He elucidated in clear words: “State governments have awarded monetary awards in millions of naira to athletes who won medals at National Sports Festivals to youths who won medals at National Youth Sports Festivals in the form of scholarships and employments. The federal government through the Federal Ministry of Sports Development has created a template for awarding monetary and national wards to athletes who won medals at continental and international competitions such as the All Africa Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics Games.
“The Sports Performance Reward Fund (SPRF), a private sector initiative, provides how the organisation intends to reward athletes who win continental and international medals. For example, for the All Africa Games, 3 million naira for gold; 2 million naira for silver; and 1 million naira for bronze are suggested. For the Commonwealth Games, 5 million naira for gold; 3 million naira for silver and 2 million naira for bronze. For the Olympics Games, 10 million naira for gold; 7.5 million naira for silver and 5 million for bronze.
With benefits of hindsight, Abdullahi, who worked in tandem with the last two sports ministers, Solomon Dalung and Sunday Dare, equally shared the kernel of the articulated reward systems for Team Nigeria athletes, even as he refrained from condemning the largesse splashed on the Super Eagles, which was beyond the imagination of stakeholders despite not winning the big AFCON prize in Cote d’Ivoire.
“The Solomon Dalung ‘s (2015-2019) Sports Reform Committee recommended that “the performance reward should be strictly for each medal not medalists and offer the following breakdown: All Africa Games: 3 million naira for gold; 2 million naira for silver; and 1 million for silver. There are over 350 athletes and almost 100 coaches. It is expected that 25% or more will make the podium. As a result, the monetary rewards are budgeted,” he said.] “For the Paris 2024 Olympics, the template used by Sunday Dare (2019-2023) showed that $5,000 for gold; $3 for silver; and $2,000 for bronze,” he further remarked.
“The federal government decided before the finals of AFCON to reward the players, many of whom are professionals based outside the country. I cannot delve into the reasons why this decision was made.
“I believe that monetary award should have been sufficient. National awards should be reserved for athletes and coaches who have exemplified character, promotion and growing the sport, service to the nation, and inspiring the youth.
“Winning a silver medal should not be a benchmark,” he offered.
