THE Ministry of Youth and Sports Development says its support for the Aisha Buhari Cup is part of an overall plan for sports development in Nigeria and not a personal donation from the minister.
The sports minister Sunday Dare had earlier announced that the ministry was supporting the competition with N50m to boost women’s football in the country.
“The impression that the sports minister made a personal donation is totally false, misleading and mischievous,” read a statement from the sports ministry on Wednesday.
“Rather it is the ministry that is supporting the competition through a budgetary head of Sports Development. This is a key part of our overall plan for sports development in Nigeria. As a ministry, we will always be in the forefront of any project that brings opportunities for the growth and development of sports, support for women’s football inclusive. This is what the Aisha Buhari Cup represents and much more.”
The statement further explained that the ministry is contributing to women’s football development as part of its commitment to the growth of the women’s game in Africa generally and Nigeria specifically.
The maiden Aisha Buhari Cup, an international invitational tournament featuring women’s national teams, will be taking place in Lagos from 13 September to 21 September.
Hosts Nigeria as well as Ghana, Mali, South Africa, Morocco and Cameroon will participate in the inaugural edition.
