Sports

Nigeria’s Super Falcons threaten to boycott World Cup match over unpaid bonus

Published

10 months ago

July 7, 2023

The Super Falcons of Nigeria may boycott their opening match against Canada at the 2023 Women’s World Cup scheduled to kick off in Australia and New Zealand on July 20.

According to speculations, the team is planning to stage the strike after the General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Dr. Mohammed Sanusi told them shortly before they left Nigeria that their match bonuses for the competition had been cancelled by the federation following FIFA’s promise to pay the players $30,000 as appearance fees.

It is understood that six senior players of the team, including captain, Onome Ebi, Rasheedat Ajibade, Asisat Oshoala, Ohale Osinachi, Tochukwu Oluehi, and Desire Oparanozie, had held a meeting upon their arrival at the Mercure Resorts, Gold Coast, following the announcement by Sanusi and resolved to boycott the opening match if the issues with their bonuses were not resolved.

“The players are determined to press for their demands and are willing to go as far as missing their first game against Canada on July 21 to address the issue,” a source in the NFF said on Friday.

Quoting one of the players, the source said the players were determined to carry out their threat due to bitter experiences they had had with the football authorities in the past.

“We are going ahead to press for our demands. We are ready to go as far as missing our first game against Canada because this has to stop,” the player was quoted as saying.

The NFF has been notorious for not paying players of various national teams their bonuses after international tournaments and have had long-running battles with players over the years.

The latest fallout with the Falcons is not the first as several cases of unpaid bonuses in the past have pitted the team against the football authority.

Related Topics:Bonus Boycott Featured NFF Super Falcons Women's World Cup

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Sports

Nigeria’s football federation appoints Finidi George as Super Eagles coach

Published

21 hours ago

April 29, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has approved the appointment of former international, Finidi George, as the new head coach of the Super Eagles.

The board of the Federation
on Monday, approved the recommendation of its Technical and Development Committee to appoint George, a former Eagles winger, as the manager of the Nigeria’s men national football team.

Before his appointment, George, served as assistant to José Peseiro before the Portuguese voluntarily resigned from post after leading the Eagles to the final of 2023 Africa Cup of Nations where they lost 2-1 to host Cote d’Ivoire.

Following Peseiro’s departure, George took charge of the squad in interim capacity during two friendly matches in Morocco last month.

He led the squad to a 2-1 victory over Ghana in the first match but lost 0-2 to Mali in the second game.

The 52-year-old George was a member of the Eagles team of the early 90s fondly called the “Golden Generation” that won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Tunisia and qualified Nigeria for its first ever senior FIFA World Cup in 1994.

During his playing career, George starred for Sharks of Port Harcourt and Calabar Rovers in Nigeria before moving abroad where he played for Ajax Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Real Betis of Spain.

He won 62 caps for Nigeria, including featuring at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup finals and also won gold, silver and bronze medals from the 1992, 1994, 2000 and 2002 AFCON tournaments.

George’s immediate task will be to guide the Super Eagles to victory in two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against South Africa and Benin Republic in Uyo and Abidjan respectively, in a little over five weeks.

Sports

Al Ahly, Esperance to clash in CAF Champions League final

Published

2 days ago

April 27, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Two of Africa’s club giants, Egypt’s Al Ahly and Esperance of Tunisia, will do battle next month over two legs for the right to be crowned champions of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.

Title-holders Al Ahly and their long-standing rivals Esperance both booked their places in the final with dramatic semi-final victories over DR Congo”s TP Mazembe and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa respectively on Friday night.

While Al Ahly, winners of five of the last seven editions of the continent’s top draw tournament, with a record 11 in total, overcame TP Mazembe with a 3-0 aggregate victory in the semi-final second leg after a goalless first leg last Saturday, Esperance surprised Sundowns with a 1-0 victory in Pretoria to wrap up a 2-0 aggregate win.

The two-legged final will mark the third encounter between Ahly and Esperance in the Champions League final, with the Egyptians winning in 2012 and the Tunisians triumphing in 2018.

In 2023, the two clubs clashed in the semi-finals with Ahly emerging victorious home and away, securing a 4-0 aggregate triumph.

Esperance who are aiming for a fifth Champions League title, will host the first leg in Rades on May 18, with the return fixture scheduled in Cairo seven days later.