*We have cleared 2023 bonus – NFF
THE Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has distanced itself from owing the country’s senior women’s football team, Super Falcons, their bonuses from the just concluded FIFA Women’s World Cup hosted in Australia and New Zealand.
The country’s apex football administration president, Ibrahim Gusau, made this known on Thursday in Abuja while appearing before the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee after being summoned.
The NFF told the committee that the Super Falcons had been paid their match bonuses and allowances owed them last Friday.
Asked regarding the unpaid allowances of the Super Falcons in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Gusau explained that no funding was released for their participation.
He noted that $960,000 was given to all 32 countries that qualified for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Giving an explanation of the $960,000, the NFF president explained that it was preparation money provided by FIFA to be used by the participating countries to prepare the teams for the World Cup.
“We can’t use this money to pay outstanding allowances for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup,” he said.
Rattled by the unpaid 2019 bonuses, the chairman of the ad hoc committee, Blessing Oni, questioned how the NFF was able to fund the Super Falcons campaign at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup hosted by France.
Unsatisfied by NFF’s response, Onu ordered that the documents of how the Super Falcons were funded in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, including match bonus payments for the 23 players and the coaching crew, should be provided by the NFF before August 30, 2023.
Gusau, in response to a question about their funding he told the ad hoc committee’s that they usually get funded by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA.
On funding, the NFF stressed that the Federal Government does not provide funds for its staff and officials; rather, the federation gets its operational cost from FIFA.
He said: “The Confederation of African Football provides $250,000 per annum as a subvention fund.”
