Falconets’ forward, Courtney Dike has cleared the air on why she rejected the bonus paid to her for representing Nigeria at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup finals in Canada. And according to her, it was due to rules governing her status as a student athlete under the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA).
The NCAA is the governing body of all college sports in the United States of America. An acceptance of the bonus would have meant 19 year old Courtney losing her almost $35,000 annual football scholarship at the Oklahoma State University under NCAA rules.
Dike, a business accounting major, released her statement via the office of the media officer of the Nigeria Football Federation on Tuesday. She wrote:
“I would like to respond to what I have been reading on the internet about rejecting bonuses. I am delighted to play for Nigeria whenever called upon. I knew before leaving for the U-20 World Cup that I would not accept any bonuses. Acceptance of prize money is against NCAA regulations (the division 1 collegiate governing body) here in the US, so that is the main reason for rejecting it.
Knowing this beforehand, I still chose to represent the country because I believed the experience would be more valuable than the money, and I was right,” she said.
Dike scored two goals, including the tournament’s fastest ever goal, as the Falconets reached the final where they lost 1-0 to Germany.
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