A New Beginning for Nigeria Women National Team as FIFPRO Steps into Bonus Wahala
Players union FIFPRO says it is helping Nigeria’s Women’s World Cup squad in “a disagreement with the Nigeria Football Federation” over unpaid bonuses, allowances, and expenses, some of which it claims date back to 2021.
The Super Falcons were eliminated from the tournament in Australia and New Zealand on Monday after losing to its Colonial master England in a post-match penalty shootout in a last-16 tie in Brisbane.
In a statement released on Tuesday, FIFPRO said: “During the World Cup, the players expressed the desire to remain focused on their performance without making public statements or facing other distractions.
“However, the Super Falcons believe that it is now time for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to honor their commitments and pay the outstanding amounts”.
KOOL TALKING SPORTS looks into the long-running dispute between the Federation and members representing the Super Falcons involving their Unpaid Bonus.
The Super Falcons are Africa’s most successful international women’s side, having won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations on nine different occasions and also qualified for all nine Women’s World Cups.
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.
More recently, at the 2019 World Cup in France, they staged a sit-in protest following a second-round defeat to Germany, while players boycotted training before the nation’s third-place play-off at last year’s Nation Cup in Morocco.
At the time, a special adviser to then-minister of sports Sunday Dare said the “issues are being resolved” and verbal assurances were given to the squad.
Before this World Cup, American coach Randy Waldrum claimed he was owed seven months’ salary and some of his players had not been paid for two years.
In a Press Release on Tuesday FIFPRO said it was “extremely frustrating” the issue had continued before, during, and after the tournament, adding that it was “regrettable that players needed to challenge their federation at such an important time in their careers.”
‘Players will receive their money
This year, for the first time at a Women’s World Cup, players are receiving individual payments direct from organizers.
Nigeria’s women will each receive $60,000 for reaching the second round, as well as being entitled to a $100 daily allowance.
KOOL TALKING SPORTS has also gathered that the direct payments have caused disagreements between several teams and their national administrations, including England’s Lionesses, with some federations saying the Fifa money effectively counts as a performance-related bonus.
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 “contractual rights are honored and outstanding payments settled”.
