Courtney Dike has explained her main reason for not accepting NFF’s $7000 bonus for representing Nigeria at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup finals in Canada.
The young sister of Bright Dike, said it was due to the rules governing her status as a student athlete under the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA).
Dike is studying business accounting and she released a statement through the Nigeria Football Federation media officer and said: “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 is the record holder for the tournament’s fastest ever goal, her goal against Korea during Falconets 6-2 win .
She scored two goals in the tournament.
The NCAA is the governing body of all college sports in the United States of America.
An acceptance of the bonus would mean 19 year old Courtney losing her $35,000 annual football scholarship at the Oklahoma State University under NCAA rules