Courtney Dike has admitted that he turned down the $7,000 bonus from Nigeria, because of the rules regarding her status as a student athlete under the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA).
If the 19-year-old had accepted that money, she would have lost her annual football scholarship at the Oklahoma State University worth over $35,000, under NCAA rules.
Dike, who is a Business Accounting major, confirmed that NCAA sees all student athletes as amateurs, who should not be paid anything apart from camp dues.
“I would like to respond to what I have been reading on the internet about rejecting bonuses,” Dike said in her statement, via the office of the media officer of the Nigeria Football Federation on Tuesday.
“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.”
Dike bagged two goals at the World Cup, as the Falconets reached the final of the tournament, where they lost 1-0 to Germany.
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