Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has rewarded the Falconets with a cash gift of five million naira for beating Tanzania 3-0 in the U20 Women's World Cup qualifier in Benin City on Saturday.
Rasheedat Ajibade's brace plus Lilian Tule's opener ensured Christopher Danjuma's ladies overcame their visitors at the packed Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium.
Obaseki, who hosted the delegation of Nigeria and Tanzania for a dinner party at the Banquet Hall, said hosting the encounter was in interest to support women's football and bring back the state's glory days in sports.
He backed the Falconets to subdue the east African in the second leg in Dar-es-Salaam, adding that the cash donation he made was to spur the girls to the next stage.
"Certainly, we hope to hosts the Falconets again. This is the first time in a long while we are hosting a national team," Obaseki told media.
"My [Edo state] government believes in engaging youths through sports and hosting the girls will encourage other young ones to emulate them by building their talents.
"The standard of the match was very high and simply incredible. I was very impressed with the pace, style, and accuracy of our girls.
"Certainly, everyone can see they are the better side but they just need to be a lot more confident, stable and definitely, they are going to win in Tanzania.
"The donation is a token of support to the players for making us proud beating Tanzania and also a motivation for them to win the second leg. We will be happy to welcome more national teams in Benin."
He further assured that the state is ready to host this year's Nigeria Women Premier League Super Four tournament scheduled to hold from October 9-14 in Benin City.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)