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Players union Fifpro says it is helping Nigeria\u2019s Women\u2019s World Cup squad in \u201ca disagreement with the Nigeria Football Federation\u201d over unpaid bonuses, allowances and expenses \u2013 some which it claims date back to 2021.<\/p>\n
The Super Falcons were eliminated from the tournament in Australia and New Zealand on Monday after\u00a0losing a penalty shootout against England\u00a0in a last-16 tie in Brisbane.<\/p>\n
In a statement released on Tuesday, Fifpro said: \u201cDuring the World Cup, the players expressed the desire to remain focused on their performance without making public statements or facing other distractions.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHowever, the Super Falcons believe that it is now time for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to honour their commitments and pay the outstanding amounts\u201d.<\/p>\n
A long-running dispute<\/strong><\/p>\n The Super Falcons are Africa\u2019s most successful international women\u2019s side, having won the Women\u2019s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) nine times and also qualified for all nine Women\u2019s World Cups.<\/p>\n Yet this is far from the first time they have found themselves at loggerheads with their federation over money, with disputes dating back to 2004.<\/p>\n More recently, at the 2019 World Cup in France, they staged\u00a0a sit-in protest\u00a0following a second-round defeat to Germany, while\u00a0players boycotted training\u00a0before the nation\u2019s third-place play-off at last year\u2019s Wafcon in Morocco.<\/p>\n At the time, a special adviser to then-minister of sports Sunday Dare said the \u201cissues are being resolved\u201d and verbal assurances were given to the squad.<\/p>\n But a month later, BBC Sport Africa was told\u00a0players were still waiting.<\/p>\n Before this World Cup, American coach Randy Waldrum claimed he was owed seven months\u2019 salary and some of his players had not been paid for two years.<\/p>\n Fifpro said it was \u201cextremely frustrating\u201d the issue had continued before, during and after the tournament, adding that it was \u201cregrettable that players needed to challenge their own federation at such an important time in their careers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Players will receive their money\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n This year, for the first time at a Women\u2019s World Cup, players are\u00a0receiving individual payments direct from organisers Fifa.<\/p>\n Nigeria\u2019s women will each receive $60,000 for reaching the second round, as well as being entitled to a $100 daily allowance.<\/p>\n The direct payments have caused disagreements between several teams and their national administrations,\u00a0including England\u2019s Lionesses, with some federations saying the Fifa money effectively counts as a performance-related bonus.<\/p>\n Reacting to the Fifpro statement, a top NFF official played down the row, insisting payment arrangements were put in place long before the defeat against England.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything agreed with the Super Falcons [for the World Cup] is on paper and will be respected,\u201d he told BBC Sport Africa.<\/p>\n \u201cAny outstanding payments owed to the players will definitely be looked into by the federation.<\/p>\n \u201cFifa is expected to reach out to the NFF and other federations about the World Cup payments and the players will receive their money as agreed.<\/p>\n \u201cThis team left a huge mark at the tournament against the European champions and it is unfair to dampen it with any form of negativity.\u201d<\/p>\n Whether this latest financial dispute can be brought to a satisfactory conclusion remains to be seen, but Fifpro says it will continue to work to ensure \u201ccontractual rights are honoured and outstanding payments settled\u201d.<\/p>\n READ ALSO<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n