Nigerian Super Eagles Refuse To Train Ahead Of France Clash Over Appearance And Bonus Fees Agreement

Stephen Keshi addressing the media

- Super Eagles refuse to train due to appearance fees issues
- The players might refuse to play against France on Monday if an agreement is not reached in time

On Thursday, June 26, the Nigerian football team refused to train ahead of their clash with France in the second round of the ongoing World Cup in Brazil.

The players are said to have taken this decision following a lack of agreement with the Nigerian Football Federation to settle them after reaching the second round of the World Cup.

KayNaija learnt that the players asked for a meeting with the team's management where they requested that part of their money expected from FIFA for progressing beyond the group stage be paid them by the Nigerian Football Federation.

Although FIFA is yet to release bonus funds, the players have demanded that the Nigerian Football Federation, NFF, provide it before they take on France on Monday.

According to the Super Eagles, if they eventually exit the tournament on Monday, it would be almost impossible to collect the money from the NFF so to prevent a repeat of what happened following the conclusion of the 2010 World Cup when the NFF delayed payment of their appearance fees, they have demanded to be paid before they play France.

The players were scheduled to train at the Estadio Guarani at 18.00 but refused to train and Head Coach Stephen Keshi spoke briefly to the media in an environment guarded with soldiers and police while fans waited at the training arena in vain.

However, Mr Ben Alaiya, who is the team's media officer came out to tell the press that the players were in a meeting and that the training could still take place as scheduled.

Instead of the players coming out to train as anticipated by their media officer, the players rather dispersed and went for dinner meaning the day's training was cancelled.

Talking about the funds itself, Mr Musa Amadu caught a quick flight from Sao Paolo to Abuja in order to facilitate the release of the money from the responsible bodies.

The fear now remains that the players themselves are worried an agreement might not be reached on time for them to proceed with their clash against France.

The Super Eagles are supposed to arrive Brasilia on Friday afternoon but it is now uncertain if they will board the flight as they previously refused to train.

A similar issue occured in 2013 when the Super Eagles threatened to quit the Confederations Cup over the half payment of their bonus wins.