Falcons refuse to train after NFF fails to pay their bonuses at ongoing Women's Africa Cup of Nations

NIGERIA'S Super Falcons refused to train yesterday in protest of the fact that they have not been paid their due bonuses at the ongoing Women's Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) currently taking place in Mexico.

On Tuesday, the Falcons were eliminated from the tournament in the semi finals after losing a penalty shootout to the hosts. However, they are due to face Zambia in a play-off for the bronze medal tomorrow but the players have refused to train,. saying they are owed $10,000 in bonuses for the wins over Botswana, Burundi and Cameroon.

Yesterday evening, the players boycotted training prompting the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) to act swiftly to prevent another strike. To appease the players, the financially-stricken NFF, which receives its funding from the Nigerian government, made a $1,000 payment to each player to cover their 10 days' allowance.

One NFF official said: "The players have refused to leave their hotel in Casablanca over unpaid bonuses.  There is also an issue over the unpaid first five days of camp, which the players expected in their bank accounts but has not arrived."

NFF president Amaju Pinnick said the federation is dealing with the issue but funds need to come from the sports ministry before any payment can be made. A special adviser to the minister of sports Sunday Dare, added that the issues are being resolved and the team has received verbal assurances that they will be paid.

This is not the first time the Super Falcons, Africa's most successful women's side have protested over unpaid bonuses. They have twice been involved in sit-in protests in hotels, once in South Africa in 2004 after winning the title and then in 2016 in Abuja after claiming their eighth continental crown in Cameroon.

At the 2019 Women's World Cup in France, the players staged another sit-in protest over unpaid salaries and bonuses after their Round of 16 elimination by Germany. Each Super Falcons player in Morocco is entitled to a $100 daily allowance, $3,000 for each group stage win and $1,500 for a draw, meaning that they are owed at least $10,000 each.

Following a recent payment review, the players can also expect $5,000 for their win in the quarter-final but they will miss out on proposed payments of $7,000 and $10,000 for victories in the semi-final and final respectively. This means that the players are due an additional $5,000 for the quarter final victory over Cameroon.