John Obi Mikel is a 29-year-old Nigerian professional footballer known as “Chelsea’s man”— a midfielder for English club Chelsea and the Nigeria national team.
Since the recent Rio Olympics, a nominated team captain for the Nigeria Olympics team, Mikel had allegedly denied claims that he had donated £30,000 to help the “Dream Team” prepare for the Olympics. Recently however, Mikel made public how after experiencing first-hand the Nigeria Football Federation’s neglect toward the footballers he was ultimately forced to foot the bill. According to reports, his humble acknowledgment came after news of denial by the team’s media officer.
In an exclusive interview with Goal, Mikel explained why he had to put up his own money: “I said to myself, ‘I won’t let this happen. If I can help, I’ll try to help’. Sometimes there was no food, sometimes there was no pitch to train on, there was no bus to go to the training ground. So all of this was what me and the coach had to figure out, and get money together.”
The generous offer and impressive gesture is perhaps reason for the only Nigerian bronze medal winning at the Rio Olympics as well as potentially a boost to the young footballers’ morale. And no matter the controversy, Mikel’s undertaking is a praiseworthy sacrifice that invested in his country’s winning —a point that cannot be missed.
Author: Amira Ali