Super Eagles to receive AFCON bonuses before Friday – FG

The federal government says the Super Eagles’ match bonuses at the ongoing 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) have “cleared the necessary regulatory stages”.

On Wednesday, Super Eagles threatened to boycott training and delay their trip to Marrakech for their crucial AFCON 2025 quarter-final showdown against Algeria unless the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) promptly settles all outstanding winning bonuses from the tournament.

Nigeria will face Algeria in the quarter-final on Saturday in Marrakesh, another city five hours away from their current base. The team is scheduled to travel from Fez to Marrakesh on Thursday.

According to a statement issued on Thursday, the Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka-Anite, said the payments would be reflected in the players’ domiciliary accounts “starting today or tomorrow”.

Uzoka-Anite said the payment delay was caused by the “conversion process to move funds into foreign currency”, which she noted was the players’ preference.

She added that the process had now been fast-tracked and that the “final transfers to domiciliary accounts are currently in flight”.

“The Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria have successfully streamlined the foreign exchange processing to ensure our players are rewarded without further delay.

“Going forward, the process will be fully streamlined to ensure faster and more predictable disbursements aligned with international best practice,” she said.

Earlier, the Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko, said that all financial entitlements of Super Eagles players and officials have been resolved.

In November 2024, the team also boycotted training during the African World Cup playoffs over a backlog of allowance issues. A few days later, Nigeria lost to DR Congo, and the country’s hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup ended.