At it again…

Eucharia Uche says she hasn’t been paid since taking charge two years ago

Eucharia Uche has not received a single cheque from her employers in Nigeria, almost two years after being appointed coach of the Super Falcons.

The former international, who led the team to their sixth African title last year, has yet to officially complain about the non-payment of her salary.

But the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) says the situation is “worrying”.

“We’re working on a swift solution to sort it out as quickly as possible,” said spokesman Ademola Olajire.

“It’s not a nice situation but it has only just come to our attention that we owe the coach,” he added.

The NFF, which appoints and pays national coaches, also owe sacked assistant coaches Ann Chijiene and Idris Gidado in salary arrears.

Strangely the duo was fired last Friday for poor performance – even though the Super Falcons never lost any competitive match in all the time they were working with the team.

Uche’s situation is potentially even more dire as although she is still in charge of the team, many consider her continuing presence to be a stay of execution.

She has not been paid since she picked up the top job and speculation over her future continues to dominate the local media.

The NFF, which receives its funding from the sports ministry, has acknowledged the debts owed to the coaches but says they will have to be patient.

“It’s a pity that we only found out from the chief accountant just last weekend,” said Olajire.

“The NFF president Aminu Maigari has ordered that the salaries must be offset after our international matches this weekend.”

It is not the first time Nigerian coaches have been caught in the web of unpaid salaries.

Recently the likes of Christian Chukwu, Shaibu Amodu, Samson Siasia and Austin Eguavoen have gone to the media seeking payment of outstanding salaries.