Former Super Eagles forward, Jonathan Akpoborie has told the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) not to blame the Super Falcons if the team failed to shine at the 2023 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia.
He made this known on the backdrop of the NFF General-Secretary Dr. Mohammed Sanusi categorically telling the players in a meeting that the federation would not pay match bonuses because FIFA had already announced that each of them would receive the huge cash of $30,000 in the group stage of the tournament.
However, the players kicked against such move and vowed to boycott their first match at the upcoming 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup against Canada.
This will not be the first time the Falcons are involved in a bonus dispute with the NFF at an international tournament.
After winning the 2004 WAFCON in South Africa, the record African champions refused to travel back home, insisting they were paid their bonuses first.
Also, they conducted a sit-in protest at their Abuja hotel in 2016, after returning from Cameroon with an eighth WAFCON trophy, to press their requests for each player to be paid $16,500 after their victory.
Desire Oparanozie, the team’s captain, was stripped of her captaincy and expelled after leading a bonus protest at the 2019 World Cup in France, while the squad also boycotted training sessions before their third-place match against Zambia at last year’s WAFCON in Morocco over the same issue.
With just few days to the team’s opening game against Canada, Akpoborie in a chat with Completesports.com stated that he players mindset have been disrupted by the NFF with the latest bonus row saga.
The former Wolfsburg star warned that it will take a miracle to see the Super Falcons excel at the tournament.
“It’s a big shame on our football that when other countries are preparing and focusing on their opening game at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, Nigeria is still battling with bonus issue.
“This is not the time for the NFF to deny the players their rights. For how long are we going to continue this way, most especially when our women are representing the country at major tournament.
“The simple truth is that it will take motherluck for the players to motivate themselves and focus on the task at hand. If the team fail to shine, please don’t put the blame on them.”
19 Comments
There is MASSIVE CORRUPTION going on there.I WONDER what’s taking the EFCC CENTURIES to INVESTIGATE this GUY’S especially when they leave office..like PICNIC should be in JAIL by now…
IF NIGERIANS FIND OUT THE DETAILS ABOUT THE ISSUES OF BONUSES, YOU WILL DISCOVERED THAT ALL THESE HAS BEEN INCLUDED INTO ANNUAL BUDGET NFF SUBMITTED TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. NFF WILL THREATEN THE PLAYERS THAT: NO BONUSES FOR ANY PLAYERS, AND IF ALL THE PLAYERS KEPT QUIET, NOBODY TALK, THE BONUSES THAT SUPPOSED TO BE PAID TO PLAYERS, WILL NOW BE DIVERTED AND SHARED BY FOOTBALL MANAGEMENT.
NIGERIAN REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED IN 2010 WORLD CUP, WHERE OUR FOOTBALLER MANAGEMENT MAKE THEMSELVES RICH RIGHT FROM LARS LAGERBACK’s SALARY TO PLAYERS’ BONUSES, EVEN THEN, SUPER EAGLE ARE LOSING MATCHES, AND NFF ARE PAYING WINNING BONUSES TO THEM JUST BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY WILL RIPED.
*** NO MATTER WHAT OUR LEADERS, NFF THEY WILL SAY, THAT WILL MAKE THEMSELVES JUSTIFIED, WE WILL NEVER BELIEVE THEM ANYMORE***
*** WHAT HAPPEN TO ENDSARS
PROTESTERS KILLING
*** WHAT HAPPEN TO COVID-19
PALLIATIVE SHARING
NIGERIA SHOULD WATCH-OUT FOR 2023 SUBSIDY REMOVAL PALLIATIVE SHARING.
DON’T BE DECEIVED!!!
OR YOU WILL BE DECIEVING FOREVER!!!!
DON’T SLEEP, WAKE-UP, WAKE UP
UNLESS THEY WILL COLLECT YOUR MONEY FOREVER
I support whatever action they want to take. The NFF should be ashamed of themselves. Corrupt sets of people. So the money FIFA has earmarked as appearance fee to participating players has automatically becomes match bonus. Shameless, greedy, evil and enemies of progress.
Girls, please go and collect your money and go back to your clubs. These people are not worth dying for.
Encouraged by FIFA to be a self-governing nation within Nigeria, the NFF is never audited, a law unto itself and corrupt to the core
My brother I wonder o
But wait a minute. I think the NFF is right here. What is that 30,0⁰0. 00 dollars for then. I think fifa is doing this to avoid players row with countries and that is why they are giving it to the players. Also how many countries gives bonuses to their players. Is any one giving NFf extra money to organize training for this players. Look of the home girls go to this tournament with this cash assurance they will play their hearts out. It is true they will not perform but this falcons will not win the tournament. So they should mellow. Abi them they pay us extra money to watch them with our generators despite their missperformance
@osaretin what are you talking about.
For every Fifa organized competition fifa give bonuses to those contries that qualify to take part.
How many home girls can you assemble that can competite with expirience of foreing base.
If NFF knows they are not capable of given National team proper preparation for competition then there is no need disturbing the girls for qualification.
Mr Man. Appearance fees are different from match bonuses…. the same way match bonuses differ from camp allowances.
If I organize a tournament eg XYZ Championships and I invite Brazil national team, I am meant to pay the Brazilian team appearance fee. It must not be confused with the match-by-match bonuses enshrined in the Brazilian FA’s organizational policies, be it for friendlies, qualifiers or tournaments proper.
The English, French and Canadian FA’s also had minor disagreements on this, which has now been resolved.
A worker deserves all that is due to him/her.
At least if you cant give them all, sit down with them, negotiate and come to a balance point. There is nothing that cannot be resolved on a negotiation table through simple diplomacy.
NFF gets their own funds meant for football administration through annual subventions from FIFA and numerous grants……not to mention sponsorship deals with their various sponsors.
If NFF officials too want to earn match bonuses and appearance fees, they should go and lace their boots and start playing football.
Enough of this reaping off other people’s sweat
Thank goodness for schooling the guy if na me him go first get a slap for dropping crap material here.
Seems like him be future NFF official for typing this.
The problem with Nigeria is their inability to make clear cut decisions hence .. wat is happening politically, economically and socially and even footbaltically.the era where the husband is afraid of hunting the feeling of the third wife so that she wil not run away … Just to do or take the right decision is step down low low low the value of Nigerian people.
This padi padi thing is grounding the nation little by little . Zambia ladies done win Germany on their soil.
NigeriaAir wil sit at home in their 1st game .
Even paseiro contract was renewed without signing a paper.the beginning of a new era.
The Ameeican Sniper and the Super Falcons:
Desperado nff fires back like a wounded lion ..
Super Falcons coach, Randy Waldrum, has taken a swipe at the Nigerian Football Federation over the team’s poor preparations ahead of the forthcoming Women’s World Cup billed to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to August 20, Saturday PUNCH reports.
It’s been no love lost between the American gaffer and federation officials recently, with Waldrum seemingly frustrated by his side’s poor preparations for the World Cup, after the NFF cancelled a training camp scheduled for June 20 in Abuja, meaning the 23-woman squad had to travel to host country Australia to kickstart preparations.
Speaking on a podcast show ‘On the Whistle’, Waldrum tasked the federation to give an account of the $960,000 FIFA paid the federation for the Falcons preparations for the World Cup, which kicks off in 12 days.
The 66-year-old stated that the NFF owed him seven months salaries while some of the Falcons players were still owed match bonuses spanning two years.
“My issues with the federation are my issues, but I’m not going to be quiet anymore,” Waldrum stated.
“I have a real close contact in the US that is very connected and on some of the boards at FIFA. This person told me, that in October 2022, every country was given $960,000 from FIFA to prepare for the World Cup. Where is that money? If Nigeria got it in October, why didn’t we have a camp in November?
“The other thing I found out from my FIFA connection is that if countries don’t have the money to buy the business class tickets for everybody, FIFA would front that money and buy those tickets and then just deduct it from the money you get from FIFA after the World Cup.
“So, there’s no excuse of saying ‘We didn’t have money to buy tickets, so we couldn’t have camp’ but these are the kinds of things that the people in Nigeria don’t question. Where does $960,000 go?
“Why aren’t we prepared properly?”
Related News
• Falcons plan protest, World Cup boycott as NFF cancels bonuses
• Falcons set W’Cup target as team arrives Australia
• Australia captain warns Falcons ahead W’Cup clash
Waldrum added that he would have quit the team before now but for the players.
He added, “I saw the NFF response to my previous comments on the other podcast and it just seemed like a really childish response.
“What keeps me going is the players, otherwise, I would have walked away from this job a long time ago.”
In a swift response to Waldrum’s outburst, the NFF, through its media director, Ademola Olajire, said the American is the worst Falcons coach ever.
“Incompetent loud mouth (Waldrum) found his voice now since he’s about to achieve his only ambition of leading a team at the World Cup,” Olajire said.
“Everyone knows FIFA pays preparation money for every team going to the Women’s World Cup.
“The team traveled to Japan to play friendlies matches, traveled to Mexico for a tournament and traveled to Turkey to play matches. The team is presently having a 15-day training camp in Gold Coast ahead of the Women’s World Cup. Is it Mr. Blabbermouth Waldrum who has been paying?
“He claims he’s been at the job because of the players. Bollocks. His entire objective has always been to add leading a team to the World Cup to his CV. Worst coach to have handled the Super Falcons by a country mile.”
Meanwhile, the Falcons are embroiled in another controversy with aggrieved players threatening World Cup boycott after their match bonuses for the competition was canceled by the federation, following a meeting with the General Secretary of the NFF, Mohammed Sanusi.
Sanusi, it was exclusively learnt, also informed the players that they would no longer be paid 30 per cent from the $1,560,000 FIFA grant to all member associations for the group stage of the competition.
Culled from The PUNCH SPORTS..
NFF want to kolobi all the FIFA money. Classic monkey dey work, baboon dey chop. The girls dey field dey suffer, but dem no go see any money.
Meanwhile, all this wan wey we dey yarn for here, are we sure NFF have paid the hotel bill of the team? That one may end up being another issue! Hahahaha, just saying. You can’t be too sure when it comes to NFF.
FIFA should make an exception with Nigeria abeg. Unlike other responsible federations, you can’t give money to these guys and expect them to remit it to players. Just for Nigeria, and perhaps other countries with grossly corrupt federations, FIFA should try and pay the amount due to players directly to them, and then remit the rest to the wolves at the Glass House.
Hahahahaha……is this the tasteless response NFF can offer to the bombs Waldrum has fired them with…..?? LMAOoo
Attacks on personality rather than addressing the issues….?? LMAOooo
What happened to the issue of an unknown quantity being forced on the coach’s world cup squad…?
What happened to the asst coach of the team being expelled without the consent to the coach…?
What happened to players being punished and suspended from the team for asking for their bonuses…?
What happened to the players boycotting training at WAFCON….?
What happened to the coach being owed 14 months salaries….?
The only aspect where it seemed possible that the NFF can mask their kleptomany was in the issue of friendlies and the shameless image-maker duly concentrated all his energy in that area.
“…..The team traveled to Japan to play friendlies matches, traveled to Mexico for a tournament and traveled to Turkey to play matches. The team is presently having a 15-day training camp in Gold Coast ahead of the Women’s World Cup. Is it Mr. Blabbermouth Waldrum who has been paying?….”
Ademola Olajire and the rest of his crew in the NFF are big theives. He is the real blabbermouth here. It would have been better he kept his thieving mouth shut.
Is it the NFF too that has been paying in full for all of the above….?? CAPITAL NO.
It is not a secret that it is the federation/organization that invites a team for friendlies that cater for travelling, accommodation and appearance expenditures. The NFF did not pay for any of that.
Its like when you are invited by a company or organization as an expatriate or guest speaker….they pay for everything and even give you honourarium. You dont spend a dime of your own funds if you dont want to.
Most times, its only the players’ bonuses the guest FA ends up paying. And that is why a country like brazil will say if you dont have $1m dont invite them for a friendly. And the last time we checked, even the players’ and coaches’ bonuses are not yet fully paid by the NFF.
Similarly, when a FIFA tournament is to be hosted by a counrty, participating teams are allowed to arrive the host country within 7 to 10 days of the commencement of the torunament up till 2 days after the team has been eliminated. All on the bill of the FIFA and the Hosts.
So Mr cheap lying loud mouth Ademola Olajire is it the NFF that is paying for all these too…?
These guys think they can fool everyone out there.
Nigeria, a worst country to be. A place where corruption thrives. Ademila Olajire, keep your wide blabbermouth shut… You’re shortsighted and lack cognitive behavioral health… So sorry for this my nation..
Welcome to Nigeria. It is a great country with great corrupt people that drowning the country backward.
Nigeria is a lawless nation. If not, we should hear the news today that NFF have been relieved of their job.
NFF have killed the moral of the Super Falcons before their first match against Canada.
NFF care a lot more about their pockets rather than the players and the image of our country.
Those in power have destroyed Nigeria to the extent that Falcons wants to boycott their opening match against Canada.
The government should desolve the current NFF and replace them with competent people.
This shameful act has to be dealt with. The set of players we have in the Super Falcons are capable of reaching semi final of this year world cup but with the way things are going, no hope because NFF have dismantled the spirit of our ladies.
From NFA and now NFF. I think those in charge of the NFF are just using the name “Federation” to catch a cruise. Anyway, I won’t blame the entire team if they don’t
do well in the tournament.
Lastly, Amaju Pinnick shouldn’t go unpunished. All the money he looted should be accounted for. We are keeping our eyes very open to this “AJĘWOMASAN” the “debtor NFF.” Fingers crossed. God bless Nigeria!!!
@omo9ja I hope you learn from this. you that is found of blaming this coaches for everything. Imagine nff spokesman saying he is the worst super falcon coach. Were they not the one who employ him in the first instance? how comes he becomes the worst coach because he exposed them? when you are howing somebody and you are still abusing him
Hahahaha…..I found it quite laughable to reading the dumb Ademola Olajire calling Waldrum the worst Super Falcons coach……LMAOoo. He does not know that he is indirectly indicting the HR team that hired Wladrum in the first place…..LMAooo.
He should wait till Waldrum drags their assess to FIFA and make them cough out more that just the 14 months salaries and bonuses he and his crew are being owed.
What is in a name?
I thought after the name switch NFA ( No future ambition) the FA would change for good. And we would see top notch organisation.
Now it seems the tag NFF is much more disastrous. It seems NFF stands for ‘Never failing to fail’. Cause the level of ineptitude and corruption is top notch. It keeps ascending.
Failure disorganisation,Theft, deceit,et al is there is with this FA. In fact,it is always expected. I am always shocked if the opposite happens.
Thank goodness we are blessed with talents to continually qualify for competitions and keep the flag flying. Left for the FA, our football would be as bad as disinterested countries like Pakistan ( with all respect to Pakistanis out there, we know Cricket is your fortè).
God save our football.
Corruption and stealing are part of average Nigerians characteristics .Criminality is being celebrated to the detriment of dignity. Check their records from top to bottom.