Sports
FIFPro Steps into Super Falcons, NFF Allowances Dispute
By Adedapo Adesanya
The professional football players union, FIFPro, has said it would assist Super Falcons of Nigeria in a disagreement with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) concerning bonus payments, camp allowances and expenses, some of which date back to 2021.
This followed the exit of the Nigerian women’s football team from the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup on Monday after losing 4-2 on penalties to European champions, England.
Prior to the tournament, the players threatened to boycott the games in Australia and New Zealand over unpaid arrears.
The NFF made it clear it would not adhere to an agreement to give the players 30 per cent of the tournament revenue it gets from FIFA. The NFF said it would no longer pay since FIFA is paying each World Cup player a minimum of $30,000 for participating in the group stages, up to a maximum of $270,000 per World Cup winner.
On his part, Coach Randy Waldrum hit out at the local football governing body, telling the On the Whistle podcast that he was owed over 14 months of salary, with only 50 per cent paid.
“What keeps me going are the players. Otherwise, I would have quit this job long ago.
“Up until about three weeks ago, I had been owed about 14 months’ salary. And then they paid seven months’ salary. We still have players that haven’t been paid since two years ago when we played the summer series in the USA. It’s a travesty,” he lamented.
In a statement on Tuesday, FIFPro said it had moved to mediate the issue but noted that during the World Cup, the players expressed the desire to remain focused on their performance without making public statements or facing other distractions.
However, following Monday’s exit, “the Super Falcons believe that it is now time for the Nigeria Football Federation to honour their commitments and pay the outstanding amounts.”
“The team is extremely frustrated that they have had to pursue the Nigeria Football Federation for these payments before and during the tournament and may have to continue doing so afterwards. It is regrettable that players needed to challenge their own federation at such an important time in their careers,” the statement read in parts.
FIFPro said it would continue to work with the players to ensure their contractual rights are honoured, and the outstanding payments are settled.
On the part of the NFF, Mr Ademola Olajire, the body’s communications director, called Mr Waldrum the “worst Super Falcons coach in history”.
Mr Olajire said, “Everyone knows FIFA pays preparation money for every team going to the Women’s World Cup. The team travelled to Japan to play matches, travelled to Mexico for a tournament and travelled to Turkey to play matches.”
Nigeria beat the co‑hosts Australia 3-2 in a memorable game and drew goalless with Canada and the Republic of Ireland to set up the game against England.
In another interview after the game, Nigerian forward Ifeoma Onumonu told the Guardian UK, “I’ve seen what [resources] England have access to.”
“In Nigeria, we don’t have access to much. Our training fields aren’t great. Where we sleep isn’t great. Sometimes we share beds,” the player, who plies her trade in the United States for NJ/NY Gotham FC, said.
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By Dipo Olowookere
The former manager of Mali’s national football team, Mr Eric Chelle, has been appointed as the new head coach of Nigeria’s Super Eagles.
The appointment of Mr Chelle was announced on Tuesday night by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
The first job of the new coach will be to guide the home-base Super Eagles team to victory at the 2024 CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) co-hosted by the trio of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania from February 1–28, 2025.
He will work with the current Super Eagles B coaching staff, which includes Daniel Ogunmodede, Fidelis Ilechukwu, and Olatunji Baruwa, who successfully guided the team through CHAN qualifiers.
The biennial football tournament is organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and sponsored by an oil giant, TotalEnergies.
Mr Chelle would be expected to deploy his tactics to ensure a successful outing of the home-based Super Eagles at the competition and also revive the main team, according to the president of the NFF, Mr Ibrahim Gusau.
“We want whoever takes charge of the team to begin immediately, which is why the same coach will manage the CHAN Eagles.
“This allows us to identify promising home-based players who can contribute to the senior national team,” he stated.
Business Post reports that the new coach was favoured for the new job by the Technical and Development Sub-Committee of the federation and endorsed by the executive committee.
One of his biggest tasks will be to qualify the Super Eagles for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States of America (USA).
At the moment, Nigeria occupies fifth position and will play the next qualifiers in two months’ time.
Mr Chelle led the Mali national team to quarterfinals of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. He is the latest foreign coach appointed by the NFF to manage the country’s national team.
The race for the first silverware of the 2024/25 season intensifies as Premier League leaders Liverpool and second-placed Arsenal will be in Carabao Cup semifinal action this midweek.
Arsenal will host Newcastle United in the first leg at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, while Liverpool travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday. Both matches will be broadcast live on GOtv Channel 65 at 9 PM.
Fresh from their impressive 2-1 victory over Tottenham on Saturday, Newcastle will aim to build on their momentum and secure a favorable result ahead of the second leg at St. James’ Park. The Magpies have already defeated Arsenal 1-0 earlier this season, and another strong performance could leave the Gunners with a steep hill to climb in the second leg.
Newcastle will be without their influential captain, Bruno Guimarāes due to suspension, while Arsenal battle with illness issues in the squad which has seen Kai Havertz miss the last two matches.
Arsenal, who haven’t lifted the Carabao Cup in 31 years, view this competition as a vital chance for silverware, especially with their league title hopes fading.
On the other side of North London, Tottenham Hotspur face defending champions Liverpool, hoping to avoid a repeat of their 6-3 thrashing by their visitors just 17 days ago. Spurs have managed just one win in their last eight matches at home in all competitions—a narrow 4-3 victory over Manchester United in the quarterfinal. Their last taste of silverware came 17 years ago when they won this competition.
Meanwhile, Liverpool, who have lost just one match all season, are chasing an ambitious quadruple. A victory over Spurs on Wednesday would put them on the brink of securing a spot in the final at Wembley.
Football fans can enjoy all Carabao Cup matches, Premier League, Serie A, Laliga and Champions League action live by reconnecting or upgrading to the GOtv Super Plus package. Simply dial *288# to renew or upgrade your subscription.
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