With the newly passed Tax Rebate on Sports as the main lolly, Nigerian leader, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua at the weekend raised close to N1billion in the bid for the Nigerian national team, Super Eagles, to qualify and make an appreciable impact at the forthcoming South Africa 2010 World Cup.

At an impressive ceremony hosted at the Presidential banquet Hall in Asokoro, the nation’s seat of power at the weekend, Yar’Adua, who was represented by his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan, called on ‘Corporate Nigeria’ to seize the opportunity offered by his administration in the area of tax freedom and tax holidays for sponsors of the nation’s athletes to move Nigerian sports forward.

Presidential Task Force Chairman and Governor of River State, Rotimi Amaechi, reiterated his resolve to make the qualification of the national team for mundial 2010 a child’s play in terms of funding. “As I talk to you, we have raised over the amount we think we really need but we’re awaiting confirmations from several of our partners,” he said.

PTF scribe, Dr. Patrick Ekeji, declared at the occasion that close to a billion naira or at the worst N880million has been raised. “And as we have said, this is not inclusive of promissory notes, we hope that by the weekend when the Super Eagles will be playing we should have reached the marked point of at least N2.5billion.”