If the Super Eagles
of Nigeria eventually lodge in the Hampshire Hotel, Ballito, Durban,
for the South Africa 2010 World Cup, and play in the final slated for
Soccer City, Johannesburg, on July 11, the Nigeria Football Federation
(NFF) would have saved $627, 000 (N94.3 million).
As the NFF
continues to insist on the Hampshire Hotel as base for the Eagles, it
emerged yesterday that it is the world football governing body FIFA,
and not the NFF, that will be paying for the Eagles accommodation
during the World Cup. Every player in the World Cup irrespective of
where they are from is eligible to $400 (N60,000) per day for hotel
accommodation and feeding.
Apart from the 23
players for each team, FIFA will also pay for 27 other officials
including coaches, media officers of the federation; 50 people in all.
Anyone not among the 50 will be responsibility of the federation.
This is clearly stated in FIFA regulation governing participation in the World Cup, under Article 36.
With Nigeria
settling for Hampshire Hotel which cost about 738 South Africa Rand
(About $100) per night, including breakfast, the NFF will be able to
save up to $350 on each player per day. Since the players are going to
pair two in a room, the NFF will be spending about $100 day per room
for two players thus saving $700 per day on the 23 players. Also, since
the 27 other people will probably be officials, coaches and the
federation’s media officer, who will stay alone, the NFF will save $300
on each of the 27 officials per day.
The Eagles will
move into the Hampshire Hotel Ballito on June 3. If the team crashs out
in the first round which ends on June 25, they would have stayed in the
hotel for 23 days, and the windfall that accrue to the NFF will be
$193, 200 on the players, and $186,300 on the officials.
But if the Eagles
make it to the final at Soccer City on July 11, and they continue to
stay at Hampshire Hotel, they would have stayed in the hotel for 38
days and the NFF would have made a total of $319,200 on the players and
$307, 800 on the officials. This amounts to $627,000 for the 38 days
that the Eagles will be in South Africa.
Other provisions in Article 36
The only
responsibility of the NFF and other participating member associations
will be adequate insurance cover for the whole delegation, players and
officials; board and lodging during the final competition in excess of
the amounts paid by FIFA and costs associated with additional members
of the association’s delegation in excess of 50 people.
Apart from the
$400 that FIFA is paying for each delegation per day, FIFA will bear
the costs of the following: a contribution towards the preparation
costs incurred by the participating member associations in accordance
with a set tariff to be fixed in due course by the FIFA Organising
Committee; business class air travel costs for 50 people from each
participating member association between a city to be designated by the
FIFA, a contribution towards the costs of board and lodging for 50
people from each participating member association in accordance with a
set tariff to be fixed in due course, (the tariff which was set
recently is $400 per head) starting five nights prior to each team’s
first match and ending two nights after its last match.
The FIFA Organising
Committee will determine these rates based on an average of rack rates
in the official venue-specific team hotels; doping control expenses.
Mum is still the
world from the NFF as its secretary and chairman are not reachable, but
a member of the board confirmed that FIFA has approved $400 per day for
all the member of delegation, that the 50 people will be entitled to
that amount. He also confirmed that all 50 will travel business class
at FIFA’s expense.
On why they federation settled for such hotel when FIFA has approved
$400 and they could get hotel that is five star for about $200, the
member said it is only the Chairman and the secretarye,Taiwo Ogunjobi
as well as others who inspected the hotel and made the choice that can
comment about that.
