Our correspondent has reported that the Super Eagles have been paid their share of the prize money from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to prevent a potential boycott of next month’s 2025 AFCON qualifiers.
Players had threatened to withdraw from the upcoming qualifiers against Benin and Rwanda due to unpaid bonuses and allowances, some of which date back to 2021. The payment of these funds is expected to ease tensions between the team and the authorities.
Each player from the 2023 AFCON squad received $30,000. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) received $4 million from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for reaching the final, while hosts and champions Côte d’Ivoire received $7 million.
In addition to the AFCON prize money, the NFF is now set to address other outstanding bonuses and allowances. Earlier in January 2024, President Bola Tinubu approved an initial 12 billion Naira, later increased to 17 billion Naira, to settle these debts for the Super Eagles and other national teams.
