Top striker of the senior national team of Nigeria Victor Osimhen has lent his voice to the call made by world football players union FIFPRO over the unpaid wages of the women team of Nigeria.
In a statement shared by all the players on their social media handle, FIFPRO called out the NFF over the non payment of the allowances of the players of the team, that crashed out of the round of 16 at the Women’s World Cup following a 1-0 loss to England.
Reacting to the post former Super Eagles striker Odion Ighalo lamented why the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is still in the act of non payment of players entitlement. His statement written in pidgins English translates to ” So the NFF is still in the habit of doing this”, he said on Instagram.
His post was immediately backed by the present top striker of the Nigerian team Victor Osimhen. The Napoli ace was more daring with his comments saying ” Pay them @thenff”. A sentiment also echoed by another Super Eagles forward in Victor Anichebe.
Meanwhile, the NFF have officially responded to the post by FIFPRO with an official release via the media department and it read thus.
NFF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT
NFF: FIFPRO’s statement is mere storm in a tea-cup
The Nigeria Football Federation has dismissed as nothing more than a storm in a team cup, a statement issued by the world body of professional footballers, FIFPRO on Tuesday calling on the Federation to pay players of the Super Falcons what they are owed.
The Federation reiterated that it had an earlier agreement with the players on what they would earn at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, but world football-governing body, FIFA came up with a new template that guaranteed more money for the players and which made players of all participating teams happier.
The NFF insisted it does need FIFPRO shouting from far off to pay Nigerian players what they had been promised by both FIFA and the NFF, dismissing the body’s statement as a mere relevance-seeking message.
It recalled that its officials sat down and agreed with the players on what to pay them, but FIFA came up with a juicier package and they were all happy about it. If they had beaten England, for instance, and reached the quarter-finals, the NFF disclosed that the players would have been entitled to $90,000, and not the $60,000 each player will be getting now. A place in the semi-finals would have guaranteed at least $165,000 each (for 4th place, and $180,000 each for 3rd place) for the players.
The Federation praised the team for its efforts at reaching the Round of 16 and standing up firmly to world number four England on the turf, as well as its heroics in the group phase. It noted that not losing a single match out of four in regulation time is a remarkable record by an African team.
The nation’s football-governing body stated that it has no issues with the players; it had assured them before the World Cup that they would be paid the couple of friendly matches and qualifying matches for which they were being owed appearance fees and bonuses respectively. It pledged to pay the money once the World Cup money is paid.
The NFF also charged FIFPRO to stop playing the ostrich and stand up to its real responsibilities, calling on the body to address the real issues. The Federation revealed that after all these years, FIFPRO does not have an affiliate body in Nigeria. It challenged the body to come to Nigeria and set up an affiliate body that can always and legitimately speak on behalf of Nigerian players, and made up of individuals who understand the culture and dynamics of the African environment.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman