80-year-old coach who won Nigeria Olympic gold says he is still waiting for his reward 29 years later

• Johannes Bonfrère says he has received no official reward from Nigeria nearly 30 years after leading the country to Olympic football gold.

• The 80-year-old coach says he was promised land in Lagos in 1996 but has never received it.

• He also revealed that the Olympic gold medal presented to him was later stolen while in the custody of a Nigerian team official.

Johannes "Bonfrère" Jo, the Dutch coach who led Nigeria's Dream Team to Africa's first-ever Olympic football gold medal, says he is yet to receive any official reward or recognition from the Nigerian government, nearly three decades after the historic win.

Now 80 years old, Bonfrère guided Nigeria through one of football's most memorable Olympic runs at the 1996 Atlanta Games, defeating Brazil 4-3 after extra time in the semi-final before coming from behind to beat Argentina 3-2 in the final, a squad that featured Nwankwo Kanu, Austin Okocha, Daniel Amokachi, Taribo West, Celestine Babayaro, Garba Lawal and Emmanuel Amuneke.

While several members of that squad went on to receive national honours, houses and cash rewards in the years that followed, Bonfrère says his own contribution was left out entirely. "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," he said in a recent interview.

Adding to his frustration, Bonfrère revealed that the Olympic gold medal he was presented with after the final was later stolen while in the custody of a Nigerian team official, a loss 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.

Bonfrère has said he was specifically promised a plot of land in Lagos as part of his reward, a pledge made in 1996 by then-Military Administrator of Lagos State, Col. Olagunsoye Oyinlola. That promise remains unfulfilled 29 years later, despite what his team says were repeated attempts to resolve the matter, including efforts to secure a meeting with Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

Late last year, Bonfrère's lawyers formally petitioned the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, urging lawmakers to summon the Lagos State Government and compel it to explain why the land has never been released. 

His media aide, Eze Okechukwu, named several of Bonfrère's former players, including Okocha, Kanu, Amokachi, Taribo West, Amuneke and Tijani Babangida, as having already received their own land allocations, questioning why the coach who delivered the achievement has been left out.

"All the players have gotten their land," Okechukwu said at the time. "Why should Bonfrere Jo be left out?"

As it stands, Bonfrère remains the only foreign coach to have led Nigeria to an Olympic football gold medal, a feat yet to be repeated by any Nigerian coach since.

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