Nigeria redeems 25-year old pledge to Clemens Westerhof

After twenty-five years, the Nigerian government has presented a letter of allocation of a house to the former technical adviser to Super Eagles, Clemens Westerhof, for outstanding performance at the USA 1994 World Cup.

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola who made the presentation on Monday in Abuja,said he was very happy that many years of promise government was able to redeem her image on the house to former Eagle tactician.

“The government is rewarding the former technical adviser because it wants to develop the sports as it is a unifying factor for all ethnic groups,” Fashola said. “The gesture will go a long way to encourage other sportsmen and women here.”

Contributing, minister of youth and sports development, Solomon Dalung said the Class of 1994 as a team has come to be known for achieving great feat for Nigeria and indeed the continent of Africa.

“For one, just before the World Cup, Nigeria was ranked fifth on FIFA rankings, the highest any African country has attained till date. The team had just won the African Cup of Nations for their fatherland,” Dalung said.

According to Dalung, although Super Eagles could not progress beyond the second round of 1994 world cup, the team was named the second most entertaining team behind Brazilian team.

“This year marks the celebration of 25th anniversary of Super Eagles Class of ’94 squad and Dream Team of Atlanta ’96 Olympic Games, both regarded as most successful national teams the country has produced.”

Responding, the Dutchman Clemens Westerhof, thanked the federal government for redeeming the pledge, adding that for this gesture, he “would continue to contribute to sports development in the country.”