African champions Super Falcons staged a sit-in protest in an Abuja hotel on Tuesday demanding their entitlements for winning the
African Women’s Cup of Nations in Cameroon on Saturday from the Nigeria Football Federation, BBC Sport reports. The team clinched their eighth African title with a 1-0 win over hosts Cameroon.
They said the NFF promised them that their outstanding allowances for qualifying and their win bonuses would be sorted before the start of the competition.
“We are tired of the lies and false promises from the NFF,” one player, who insisted on anonymity, told BBC Sport.
“They told us that we would be paid before the tournament in Cameroon, but that never happened.
“We continued playing and now we are owed additional allowances and bonuses for winning the competition itself.
“The only thing we understand right now is for them to pay and stop making promises.
“We have made it clear to the NFF president (Amaju Pinnick) and General Secretary (Mohammed Sanusi) that we are going nowhere until we are paid.”
Since March, Super Falcons coach Florence Omagbemi and her assistants have only received a month’s salary. The NFF said in a statement that Sanusi met with the players and their officials at the Agura Hotel on Tuesday.
“The NFF is not happy owing players and coaches, but present severe economic challenges inform that it can only continue to seek the understanding of these persons, as well as hoteliers, travel agents, management and staff until the situation improves,” Sanusi said in a statement.
“All organisations, whether government or private, are feeling the pinch.
“We know we have financial commitment to you (players and officials of Super Falcons) and we have not at any time stated otherwise. But the money is not readily available.
“I have come to appeal to you, to understand the situation of the federation, to understand the situation of the country at the present and exercise patience.
“We will pay you all monies you are being owed as soon as we receive same from the government.”
