“They don’t treat us as if we are here to play for our country — they treat us as if we are slaves.”
These words were spoken by a member of Nigeria’s 2023 Women’s World Cup squad, describing her frustration with the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) and its treatment of the national team’s players.
More than six weeks on from their World Cup exit, The Athletic has spoken to multiple sources close to the Nigerian team for this article, all of whom asked to remain anonymous to protect their positions. Players claim they have received less than half of their daily camp wages and no match bonuses from the NFF. They have also yet to receive $60,000 (£49,000) of FIFA money owed to each player for reaching the round of 16, though that is not unexpected at this stage given the time it takes for FIFA to distribute the funds.
The team is working with FIFPRO, the international players’ union, to fight for payments owed to them by the NFF, some of which date back to 2021. FIFPRO said in a statement issued on August 8 that it will “continue to work with the players to ensure their contractual rights are honoured and the outstanding payments are settled”. The Athletic approached the NFF for comment on issues raised in this article but, at the time of publication, it has…
