Dylan Bettencourt
The Nigerian women’s football team have not yet been paid for their efforts in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) last month.
Payment issues have been a concern in the Nigerian women’s team who staged a protest at the back end of Wafcon before their third-place playoff.
The team refused to train ahead of the fixture against Zambia, which they lost, due to unpaid bonuses and allowances.
In order to convince the team to take part in the bronze medal match, the Sports Ministry verbally agreed to pay the players in full, however that promise has yet to be fulfilled. The team are yet to receive a single cent for their part in the tournament.
Each player is supposed to have received around R150,000.
While the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) claim the money will be paid soon, players are not convinced.
A member of the squad, who remained unnamed, said the players have been fed “different lies”.
“They said the money had been approved and will get to us in a few days’ time – that was before the game against Zambia,” the player told BBC Sport Africa.
“It’s now gone from that to ridiculous excuses like wrong account numbers to network issues. The lies and disrespect clearly shows that they love to treat the women’s team like an unwanted child.”
The player added that the government was quick to celebrate their success in Morocco but since then they have not heard a word regarding their payments.
“The Sports Ministry was quick to celebrate our success with big statements but since this money problem started they’ve been very quiet,” the player said.
“Imagine if one of their own daughters was playing for Nigeria – would they treat her like that?”
The players are due more than the Wafcon payment. Payments for trips to Austria and Canada have not been paid either.
“The players should be getting the money this week because it’s been processed,” an NFF official told BBC Sport Africa.
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