Eagles to boycott Nations Cup

Accra, Sept. 11, GNA - The players of Nigeria's National Team (Super Eagles) say they would not step on the pitch for any further international games, including next year's Africa Nations Cup, until their bonuses and camping allowances for last weekend's 2-0 win over Lesotho was paid in full.

According to information gathered by GNA Sports on the internet, prior to the game against Lesotho, a Nigerian Football Association (NFA) official informed team captain Nwankwo Kanu that the association has no money to pay either match bonuses or the USD 100 daily camping allowance due to the players.

In a bid to avoid trouble, the striker did not inform his team mates until after the game and stated at the press conference that the players were very unhappy with the NFA, adding "We are not happy, nobody would be if you work without getting paid but people say we must be patriotic and serve our country, which is what we just did but the NFA did not pay us any bonuses for the match".

We could have also decided to fight for our rights but we did not do that, adding that the players had done their part by not only playing in the face of what they described as the NFA's 'constant cheating' but also by winning this particular game and qualifying for the African Nations Cup. "How do they expect our football to grow with this constant cheating of players," the source said.

This is not the first time this NFA board led by Sani Lulu will run into friction with the flagship national team and it appears that it was not only the Super Eagles who are disenchanted with the NFA. Super Falcons players currently in China for the Women's World Cup, also expressed their unhappiness with the NFA after their own daily camping allowances were slashed from USD 100 to USD 75, the source added.