By Enitan Abdultawab
Former Nigeria U-23 coach Johannes “Bonfrère” Jo says he is yet to receive any reward or official recognition from the Nigerian government for leading the country’s Dream Team to a historic football gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
In a recent interview with The Punch, the Dutch tactician said he remains disappointed that his contribution, 30 years after guiding Nigeria to become the first African nation to win Olympic football gold, has gone largely unacknowledged, despite many members of the victorious squad receiving national honours, houses and cash rewards.
“They were claiming that everyone has received their rewards, but I have not received anything; they have never given me the reward for winning the gold medal,” Bonfrère said.
He added, “Even my gold medal was stolen from me, and I still didn’t get a reward from the government, which all the players have received, including players who were not on the list.”
Bonfrère, now 80, also recounted losing the Olympic gold medal awarded to him after Nigeria’s famous triumph over Argentina in the final, describing the incident as one of the most painful moments of his career.
“I don’t know how the medal was collected from me; I only know that when the players went upstairs, an official stopped me from going with them and the medal was gone,” he said.
The former coach revealed that he had made repeated attempts to seek recognition from the relevant authorities over the years but had received little response.
“I will be happy if something can be done because I have made several calls and sent messages but nobody was interested in helping me,” he said.
Bonfrère masterminded one of Nigeria’s greatest sporting achievements at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics, where the Dream Team, led by stars including Nwankwo Kanu, Austin Okocha, Daniel Amokachi, Taribo West, Celestine Babayaro, Garba Lawal and Emmanuel Amuneke, defeated Brazil 4-3 in the semi-finals before coming from behind to beat Argentina 3-2 in the final.
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