Super Eagles Boycott Training in Rabat  Over Outstanding Allowances

Duro Ikhazuagbe 

Barely two days to the crucial 2026 World Cup African Playoff clash with Gabon, Nigeria’s Super Eagles boycotted Wednesday training in Rabat, Morocco to press home the payment of outstanding bonuses and allowances.

It was a repeat of what happened in 2014 in Brazil when a similar boycott led to Nigeria failing to go beyond the Round of 16 of the World Cup as France easily defeated the feuding Eagles in Brasilia, the political capital of the South American nation.

According to Nigerian photojournalist, Adebayo Suleiman of Pooja Media, who is in Rabat for the Playoffs, Super Eagles players and officials refused to step down from their rooms for the Wednesday training.

He confirmed that the players are asking for the payment of their unpaid bonuses running over two years.

In a video posted on Instagram, Suleiman showed the empty Macopolo bus parked in front of the team’s Rive Hotel.

Yesterday was supposed to be the first time that Head Coach, Eric Chelle, will  have the full compliment of all the players at training. Only Maduka Okoye had not arrived the team base as at 4pm on Wednesday evening.

Camp sources revealed that there was consensus amongst the players to boycott the training . They were believed to have informed the head coach of their decision not to attend the training earlier fixed for between 4 and 6pm.

Chelle himself who has not been paid his $55,000 monthly salaries for September and October could not stop the protest. He recently got paid two months wages as part of his outstanding salaries. The Malian was employed in January to replace sacked Finidi George.

A top government official who did not want to be quoted told THISDAY last night that the outstanding bonuses are for both the qualifying campaigns for the 2025 AFCON as well as the 2026 World Cup totally over $100,000 per player.

“The players have only received $1,000 allowance for all the matches played despite the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) receiving full payments for both the Lesotho and Benin Republic matches from the NSC,” stressed the top official.

It was also learnt that the players are also asking for a special bonus for taking part in the playoffs just as Gabon and D.R. Congo players have also demanded from their FAs.

Calls to the mobile phone of the NFF’s Director of Communication, Dr Ademola Olajire, were not picked neither was there any official statement from the federation on the situation in Eagles camp in Rabat.

The Super Eagles are billed to tackle Gabon on Thursday in a 2026 World Cup Playoff with the winner up against the winner of the other Playoffs between DR Congo and Cameroon to determine Africa’s representatives at the Intercontinental Playoffs in March next year.