World Cup playoff campaign in jeopardy
Super Eagles camp in Rabat, Morocco was thrown into confusion yesterday when the players and their officials elected to boycott training over unpaid allowances dating back to 2019.
The Super Eagles are camped at The Rive Hotel in Rabat ahead of the 2026 World Cup playoff against Gabon tomorrow. The players, who arrived the camp in batches on Sunday and Monday, had their first training session Monday evening, but they refused to come out for yesterday’s evening, saying they would not enter the pitch again unless the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) settled their outstanding allowances.
In an unsigned statement made available to The Guardian, yesterday, the players said: “The full squad including officials boycotted training today in Morocco because of the unresolved issues with outstanding payments.
“The Super Eagles is awaiting a quick resolution to continue the preparations for Thursday’s game against Gabon. Thank you.”The players said that they are still being owed bonuses dating back to the 2019 African Cup of Nations.
They alleged that the NFF has been treating them with disrespect, adding that the current NFF board said it has nothing to do with their 2019 bonuses “because they were not in charge of the federation then.”
They also alleged that none of the Super Eagles players has received his allocated allowances or bonus for reaching the 2025 AFCON and the 2026 World Cup playoff.
A source close to the players said that they are not happy with the way the NFF has been treating the 2026 World Cup qualifying race, saying that the players decided to continue with the games because they all want to go to the World Cup.
“But they now know that if they do not get the money now and they failed to qualify for the World Cup, their money would be gone.” The Guardian could neither reach the NFF President Ibrahim Gusau nor the federation’s secretary general, Mohammed Sanusi as they were said to be on their way to Morocco, while several calls to the federation’s Media Director, Ademola Olajire, were not returned.
