Protest Over Unpaid Bonuses Disrupts Nigeria’s Camp

Nigeria’s preparation for today’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tie with Guinea suffered a setback as a bonus row took centre stage.
The Super Eagles had laboured to a hard-fought win over Burundi in their first game and could earn a ticket to the Round of 16 should they triumph over the National Elephants in Alexandria.
However, preparation suffered as Gernot Rohr’s men went on to complain about their unpaid bills.
Ahmed Musa failed to show up for yesterday’s pre-match conference ahead of the Guinea match, as the Al-Nassr player preferred to stay back with his colleagues for a ‘crucial’ player’s meeting at the Helnan Palestine Hotel.
“The player showed solidarity and had to stay back for an important meeting,” said coach Rohr when quizzed by the media.
Unpaid bonuses are not new in Nigerian football. First, it was the Nigeria U20 team who embarked on a sit-in protest and refused to leave Poland after their elimination from the FIFA U20 World Cup in Poland.
Recently, the Nigeria women’s senior national team, which was eliminated from the Women’s World Cup in France, declined to leave their hotel until all outstanding bonuses were paid – a claim the NFF denied, insisting Thomas Dennerby’s ladies were not owed.
Newsmen reached out to a top source of the country’s football house in Egypt and has been assured that the players would be settled before they take on Paul Put’s team at the Alexandria Stadium, today.
The three-time African champions top Group B with three points. They are two points above Guinea who were forced to a 2-2 draw by debutants Madagascar on Saturday.