Ex-Flying Eagles Coaches, players urge NFF to pay outstanding entitlements

By Tosin Omojola

Players and technical officials of Nigeria’s U-20 men’s national football team, the Flying Eagles, have appealed to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the National Sports Commission (NSC) to settle outstanding qualification bonuses, daily allowances and match bonuses allegedly owed to them.

Repeated appeals to the NFF have reportedly yielded no results, leaving players and officials who served under former head coaches Ladan Bosso and Aliyu Zubair awaiting payment of their entitlements.

The affected personnel have now urged the NSC to intervene and facilitate the settlement of the outstanding payments, which they said remain unpaid despite previous assurances from the federation’s leadership.

During the tenures of Bosso and Zubair, the Flying Eagles won two WAFU B titles in 2022 and 2024, claimed two bronze medals at the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations and featured at two FIFA U-20 World Cups in Argentina and Chile.

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, Fatai Amoo, who served as an assistant coach under Bosso, expressed disappointment over the continued delay, saying promises to clear the outstanding payments had yet to be fulfilled.

Amoo said the former NFF General Secretary, Dr Sanusi Mohammed, had outlined the allowances and bonuses due to the team’s players and officials for their participation in regional, continental and global competitions.

“I was the first assistant coach under Bosso. The then NFF General Secretary, Dr Sanusi Mohammed, said we were entitled to daily allowances and qualification bonuses in WAFU B and the U-20 AFCON, while at the World Cup, we were entitled to match bonuses,” Amoo said.