The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), on Wednesday said it did not short change players of the Super Eagles with regards to payment of their winning bonus for a 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying match.
This is contained in a statement by Ademola Olajire, NFF’s spokesman and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Olajire was reacting to a report alleging that the Super Eagles were short changed by the NFF of their winning bonus for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Algeria in Uyo in November.
The statement quoted Eagles’ Team Administrator Dayo Enebi Achor as saying, “That report is a fabrication. The estimate we sent to the Government was for one million naira for each player for a win. Nobody has been short changed.
“In March 2016, the NFF held a meeting with some technical crew members, team captain and vice captain, on behalf of the team.
“They were told to open bank accounts (in Nigeria) as the Federation was no longer disposed to paying cash.
“It was also at that meeting that the NFF told them they would no longer be paid in dollars for home matches, and that the win bonus for home match was a flat rate of one million naira.
“The meeting took place at the team’s hotel in Kaduna and I was present.
“It was based on this that the players were paid N500,000 each for the draw against Egypt in Kaduna (2017 Cup of Nations qualifier, March 2016) and one million naira each for the win against Tanzania in Uyo (2017 Cup of Nations qualifier, September 2016).
“Their camp allowance has also been paid in naira (N50,000 per day) since March 2016.”
Achor also confirmed that for away matches, the players are entitled to the sum of 5,000 dollars at the official rate obtaining at the time of match.
“The NFF has not short changed the players. The match against Algeria was a home match.
“Whenever the win bonus for the match against Zambia in Ndola is being paid, it would be 5,000 dollars per player at the official rate that obtained at the time the match was played.” (NAN)