Former President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, has revealed that he paid the debts of the 2006 Germany World Cup during his tenure as President of the body without a fuss.
Pinnick became President of the NFF in 2014 and left in 2021 after the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.
The recent boycott of training by the Super Eagles in the build-up to their 2026 World Cup playoff in Morocco brought back old memories, following insinuations that the backlog of money owed to the players during Pinnick’s tenure.
Speaking with The Guardian on Friday, Pinnick stated that all those stories about 2019 are just propaganda.
“After the AFCON, there was an agreement that the Federation (NFF) should pay some additional percentage of the prize money to be shared as backlog payments so they could start on a clean slate moving forward. So they are talking about AFCON 2025 and WCQ 2026 outstanding, for which some of the games have already been paid.”
Pinnick, however, asked, “Why do we always strive in controversies? Even if my administration was owing, government administrations are continuum.
“I paid debts of 2006 as president without noise. Haters and traducers love controversies. The people who are busy asking questions about debt owed during my tenure should focus on our qualifications for the 2026 World Cup,” Pinnick said.
Recall that Nigeria advanced to the final of the African play-offs for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Thursday following a dramatic 4-1 win over Gabon after extra time.
Chidera Ejuke and Victor Osimhen struck in the first period of added time after the match in Rabat had ended 1-1 after 90 minutes.
Osimhen ripped off his protective face mask and shirt to celebrate his goal – no doubt partly in relief after the striker had squandered a glorious chance to win it for the Super Eagles in the 12th minute stoppage time at the end of the game.
The Galatasaray man grabbed his second goal of the evening five minutes into the second half of extra time to make sure of victory.
Nigeria, who enjoyed the better of the semi-final tie, had seemed on course to win in regulation time after Akor Adams pounced on a poor back-pass to give Eric Chelle’s side the lead in the 78th minute.
But Gabon levelled in the 89th minute through Mario Lemina’s deflected shot to send the game to extra time, before the Panthers were eventually undone by clinical finishing from their West African rivals.
Nigeria will face either Cameroon or DR Congo in Africa’s play-off final on Sunday (19:00 GMT).
The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World NewsThe Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News
Ekong: ‘No distractions, Eagles are focused on winning African playoff’
Super Eagles Captain, William Troost-Ekong, has assured Nigerians that the team is focused on beating Gabon to win
