Falcons refuse to check out of hotel, …in protest over unpaid bonuses
*Women’s World Cup fall-out
The Super Falcons of Nigeria have refused to leave their hotel in France in protest over unpaid bonuses from two years ago and camp allowances at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Nigeria were eliminated from the round-of-16 by Germany after a 3-0 defeat on Saturday, June 22 in Grenoble, France.
Just hours after their elimination, the players have revealed that they will not leave their hotel until they are paid what they have asked for.
According to ESPN, the outstanding bonuses run into N2m from two games, against Gambia and Senegal, from as far back as two years ago.
They players according to the report, have also not been paid their camp allowances for five days in France.
“They paid us 1 million [naira] and said that is all. We want them to pay the balance,” one player said in the report.
“Part of that money is from two years ago, the other is from three years ago. And they are also owing us five days’ daily allowance here in France.”
President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick, however, insists that all outstanding allowances have been paid with the only debt being from the participation fee from FIFA which will only come after the tournament.
According to Pinnick in the report, the Super Falcons players say their Cameroonian and French colleagues have already received money from the participation fee.
This is not the first time the Super Falcons are staging a sit-in protest at their hotel over unpaid bonuses and allowances.
Shortly after winning the 2004 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) in South Africa, the Super Falcons refused to leave their hotel, protesting their unpaid allowances and bonuses from the tournament. They got their money after staying five days at the hotel.
It happened again in December 2016 when the Super Falcons had a nine-day sit-in protest at a hotel in Abuja after winning the AWCON title in Cameroon.
The players who seized the AWCON trophy also took to the streets in protest and marched to the National Assembly Complex where President Muhammadu Buhari was scheduled to be present.
SOURCE: pulse.ng
