By Harry Awurumibe, Africa’s No.1 Women Football Journalist
No Show…Super Falcons players walking off the pitch
Like a recurring decimal, Nigeria’s senior women’s football team, Super Falcons today in Morocco embarked on a sit-in protest ahead of their third-place match against Copper Queens of Zambia in the on-going CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).
Camp sources told Prompt News that the players boycotted their training on Wednesday morning over unpaid allowances and bonuses owed the team by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
According to our impeccable sources in Morocco the players are accusing the federation of “promise and fail”, pointing out that the refusal to pay them their accumulated allowances and bonuses informed their decision to boycott their morning training on Wednesday.
The players are said to be demanding immediate payment of their appearance fee ahead of their third-place final match against Zambia or they will not file out of the dressing room.
Prompt News efforts to speak to top officials of NFF met a brick wall as none of those in Morocco volunteered to speak on the embarrassing issue, although it was gathered that the federation has promised to fulfil their obligations but so far, the ladies have not been paid as at the time of this report.
The Super Falcons are scheduled to take on Zambia on Friday at the Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca in the bronze medal match.
Prompt News can confirm that it is not the first time the Super Falcons have protested abroad over unpaid entitlement by the football house.
Recall that after emerging African champions at the 2004 WAFCON the team remained in their hotel rooms in South Africa for three days protesting unpaid natch allowances.
Also, the Super Falcons in 2016 refused to leave their Agura Hotel Abuja camp on their return from Cameroon where they lifted 2016 WAFCON trophy even as the action cost Head Coach, Florence Omagbemi and her coaching crew their jobs.
Yet, in 2019 in Gronoble, France, the Super Falcons refused to vacate their hotel rooms in protest of unpaid allowances after Nigeria crashed out of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in the Round of 16. This is even as then Super Falcons Captain, Desire Oparanozie is still receiving retribution for the action of the entire team in France.
Like ‘Abiku’ these protests by every set of Super Falcons have refused to die as it has kept coming back every two years when the team attends the African women’s football fiesta which Nigeria has dominated since 1998 with nine trophies to show for it.
Not the Best of Time…Super Falcons Head Coach Randy Waldrum addressing the players at the team hotel in Casablanca.
Back in 1998, Super Falcons agitation was over increase in their paltry match entitlement after they pounded Morocco 8-0 in the opening match of maiden WAFCON but it took the administrative sagacity of Mallam Ahmed Sani Toro then Secretary General of NFA to involve one or two women’s football stakeholders the players listen, to placate the team.
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