The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has announced that it will start paying the mothers of late football legends, Sam Okwaraji and Rashidi Yekini N30,000 monthly stipends.
The announcement was made on Thursday after the Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports Development had on Wednesday placed both matriarchs on N10k monthly stipends.
The NFF in series of tweets via its official Twitter account also disclosed that they will henceforth review the situation of surviving mothers of other football legends that died in active service for the country and will resolve what to do for them on a monthly basis.
The tweet reads, “In furtherance to and in appreciation of the recent pronouncement of the Minister of Sports, Sunday Dare, to put the mothers of the two late ex-internationals Sam Okwaraji and Rashidi Yekini on a monthly stipend, the NFF has decided to support this noble initiative with a further monthly stipend of N30,000 to each of the two matriarchs.
“In addition, the NFF will henceforth review the situation of surviving mothers of our ex-internationals that died in active service for the country and resolve what to do for them on monthly basis.”
Samuel Okwaraji, played internationally for Nigeria but collapsed and died of congestive heart failure during a World Cup qualification match against Angola at the Lagos National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos State, on 12 August, 1989.
Rashidi Yekini died in May 2012 after retiring from football in 2006.
Yekini scored 37 goals as a Nigerian international, and represented the nation in five major tournaments.