By Nodley Wright, Staff ReporterTHE JAMAICA Football Federation (JFF) is set to earn almost $10 million from the football friendly against Nigeria today in Lagos.
According to a report in the This Day newspaper by Tunde Sulaiman last week, a total of US$300,000 would be shared between two visiting countries for friendly internationals this month. After playing Jamaica today at the National Stadium, the Nigerians go up against Egypt at the Sanni Abacha Stadium in Kano.
Nigeria, it was reported, will earn US$150,000 and US$100,000 respectively from the games.
"The visiting teams will be paid a total of US$300,000 with the Reggae Boyz taking the larger chunk of US$200,000," the report said. US$200,000 is about J$9.8 million.
It further quoted Phil Balepo, Executive Director of Dynamic Broadcasting Service (DBS), the company packaging the games, as saying that the "parties are satisfied with their appearance fees and have assured that they will be fielding their strongest teams possible for the encounter".
"We have concluded everything and everyone is satisfied with the package offered them. We are confident that they will keep to their own side of the deal by fielding their strongest teams possible so that fans will have the opportunity of watching top-class football," Balepo was also quoted as saying in the article.
If the reported figures are correct, the JFF would have lifted itself, to a degree, out of a financial hole which forced it to suspend the entire national programme in June this year.
In addition to the Nigeria game, the national team has played friendlies against Japan and Guatemala in October and is scheduled to meet Belize later this month.
