Medal Stolen, No Reward From Nigeria For Atlanta ’96 Triumph – Bonfrère

Former Nigeria U-23 coach, Johannes “Bonfrère” Jo, has accused the Federal Government of failing to reward or officially recognise him for masterminding the country’s historic gold medal triumph at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, thirty years after the feat.

The Dutch tactician, who guided Nigeria’s Dream Team to become the first African nation to win Olympic football gold, said in a recent interview that his contribution to the historic win has gone largely unacknowledged by the Nigerian government, even as several members of the victorious squad have over the years received national honours, houses and cash rewards.

“They were claiming that everyone has received their rewards, but I have not received anything; they have never given me the reward for winning the gold medal,” Bonfrère said.

The 80-year-old coach also disclosed that the gold medal awarded to him for the feat was mysteriously taken from him shortly after the triumph, an incident he described as one of the most painful moments of his career.

“Even my gold medal was stolen from me, and I still didn’t get a reward from the government, which all the players have received, including players who were not on the list,” he said.

Giving further details of how the medal went missing, Bonfrère said he was blocked from following the players to a location where it was later collected from him without his knowledge.

“I don’t know how the medal was collected from me; I only know that when the players went upstairs, an official stopped me from going with them and the medal was gone,” he said.

The former coach said he had, over the years, made several attempts to reach the relevant Nigerian authorities in the hope of securing recognition for his role in the historic win, but had largely been met with silence.

“I will be happy if something can be done because I have made several calls and sent messages but nobody was interested in helping me,” he said.

Bonfrère masterminded one of Nigeria’s greatest sporting achievements at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics, leading a star-studded Dream Team that featured Nwankwo Kanu, Austin Okocha, Daniel Amokachi, Taribo West, Celestine Babayaro, Garba Lawal and Emmanuel Amuneke.

The team defeated Brazil 4-3 in a thrilling semi-final before coming from behind to beat Argentina 3-2 in the final to clinch gold, a result that remains one of the most celebrated moments in Nigerian sporting history.