African Football Discussion Thread Current Topic: 👉 AFCON 2025/2026

[Stepstowealth]

Latest News: I saw on Kelechi Afc Instagram page that the Super Eagles players are heading to training. It appears that both parties have reach a good agreement.

Now that there is an agreement between both parties, I hope it does not affect the performance of the players because these players do not often train together, and missing one training session could mean that the understanding between them diminishes.

If the Super Eagles fail to win in the game, I will still blame the NFF for the failure and the players because why did they even let it get to this stage in the first place? That is incompetence.

[Agbe]

Snip

Now that there is an agreement between both parties, I hope it does not affect the performance of the players because these players do not often train together, and missing one training session could mean that the understanding between them diminishes.

If the Super Eagles fail to win in the game, I will still blame the NFF for the failure and the players because why did they even let it get to this stage in the first place? That is incompetence.

With so many controversy already in built up to this all important an winner takes it all games coming up , I have lost confidence in what the super eagles can do because first it was hotel and now players refusing to train due to a huge backlog of unpaid allowances. This is definitely going to affect our performance come tomorrow because our opponents have been training and concentrating ever since they arrived Morocco this is going to give them an hedge over Nigeria because as a Nigerian fan I can say that we are already distracted in focusing on the main thing we went there for.

[Fiatless]

I'm asking because I don't know, don't misunderstand me.

Does the Nigerian Football Federation pay players who play for the national team? Does the federation offer this as a reward, or are players paid to play for the national team?

In our country, when the national team achieves success, they receive rewards, but players selected for the national team don't receive any. How did the Nigerian Football Federation end up owing players money?

I think this situation will have a very negative impact on the Gabon match.
I hope Nigeria advances this round and qualifies for the World Cup.

In Nigeria, they are paid match bonuses. I might not be correct, but the current amount is about $10,000 per game. Maybe they are not as selfless as your country's players, who don't receive any pay for matches. But I guess your country has a good welfare package for players and ex-players of your country. Some ex-national team players have been treated poorly by the government, maybe that's why players demand payment.

This is not the first time issues like this have come up. In most cases, the Super Eagles still win such games. I just hope they train today and early hours of tommorow, to keep them fit for the Gabon game.

[Callido]

With so many controversy already in built up to this all important an winner takes it all games coming up , I have lost confidence in what the super eagles can do because first it was hotel and now players refusing to train due to a huge backlog of unpaid allowances. This is definitely going to affect our performance come tomorrow because our opponents have been training and concentrating ever since they arrived Morocco this is going to give them an hedge over Nigeria because as a Nigerian fan I can say that we are already distracted in focusing on the main thing we went there for.

According to a later news concerning the issue about the hotel, it was the surrounding that was only captured in the video, not the actual hotel that they stayed in. If the actual hotel isn't comfortable then it would have been included when the player made the video.

My concern is about the unpaid bonuses, the Super Eagles plays in clubs that pays them very well, give them the best medical and training facilities and with the effort they put in the national team they are still owed bonuses, there is nothing exciting playing for Nigeria if not patriotism and the NFF don't value them, seeing that some players choose their African countries as last resort to make national appearances but our players choose to play for the country, the best NFF can do is to settle them.

[Mayor of ogba]

What do you guys think about this picture

Please, we should be doing proper research on sensitive information like this. I don't know why most social influencers can raise an agenda.
The image you see was posted by Iwobi; he never said anything in the video, only turned his head. Later that day, he came out clean to say he was only citing some poor areas in Morocco and how people struggle to survive there. He never mentioned they were treated poorly.

I don't take any information I see on social media that is not from a reliable source very seriously because there are so many bloggers that are fond of twisting information to their own taste so that it can attract traffic to their social media page. Thank you for bringing this to our notice because it will help so many people here read the meaning of the video Alex Iwobi posted on his social media page.

[Adbitco]

This is where we are now. After all our prayers and putting our hearts into the upcoming match, this is what we get. It’s been one drama after another. At this point, I’m fed up. The players should just pack their bags and go home, whatever issues with unpaid allowances with the NFF should have been handled properly before now. They wanted until this point where they can hold NFF at the balls to make their demands. As a fan, I’m not happy at all. But I understand how the NFF moves so I don’t entirely fault the players.

What a country, we all know that the money that was allocated for them has been paid but few persons from the political side has siphoned the money into their personal accounts. I still wonder why and how these kind of people should be owned salaries. I thought NFF has their own budget for players so why are they stealing from the same account. For me, the players should not play so that the match will count as a forfeit.

[SatoPrincess]

snipped

What a country, we all know that the money that was allocated for them has been paid but few persons from the political side has siphoned the money into their personal accounts. I still wonder why and how these kind of people should be owned salaries. I thought NFF has their own budget for players so why are they stealing from the same account. For me, the players should not play so that the match will count as a forfeit.

According to Super Eagles captain, William Troost Ekong the matter has been settled. I hope the players actually got a check this time and not a promise. I’d hate to see this shameful situation repeat itself. We’ve got a very important game tomorrow, I hope the players can make us proud and bring the ticket home. 

[DYOR+BTC]

snipped

What a country, we all know that the money that was allocated for them has been paid but few persons from the political side has siphoned the money into their personal accounts. I still wonder why and how these kind of people should be owned salaries. I thought NFF has their own budget for players so why are they stealing from the same account. For me, the players should not play so that the match will count as a forfeit.

According to Super Eagles captain, William Troost Ekong the matter has been settled. I hope the players actually got a check this time and not a promise. I’d hate to see this shameful situation repeat itself. We’ve got a very important gmyopic morrow, I hope the players can make us proud and bring the ticket home. 

Why is the NFF body always interested in eating all the allocated money for the Nigeria team both in the women, under 17, under 20 and even the senior team when this money serves as a motivational tool to them all, It is now like a cultural behavior for them which stopping is now difficult base on the fact that  it has gotten to there vain. But I think now is the perfect time for identifying those selfish, myopic reasoning and unscrupulous people responsible for the perpetration of such acts which we know could be the reason behind the teams Inconsistent performance Earlier in there qualification games .

Thank god the issue have been resolved and players already preparing for there game and a win will be our nest result.

[Mayor of ogba]

snipped

What a country, we all know that the money that was allocated for them has been paid but few persons from the political side has siphoned the money into their personal accounts. I still wonder why and how these kind of people should be owned salaries. I thought NFF has their own budget for players so why are they stealing from the same account. For me, the players should not play so that the match will count as a forfeit.

According to Super Eagles captain, William Troost Ekong the matter has been settled. I hope the players actually got a check this time and not a promise. I’d hate to see this shameful situation repeat itself. We’ve got a very important game tomorrow, I hope the players can make us proud and bring the ticket home. 

I love the way the Super Eagles force NFF to pay them their outstanding payment because if they fail to qualify for the World Cup, NFF will never pay them their outstanding money. I believe before the Super Eagles captain posted on his X account that the issue had been resolved; the Super Eagles players could have received their money in their personal bank accounts. I believe the Super Eagles will make us proud tomorrow.

[Fiatless]

According to Super Eagles captain, William Troost Ekong the matter has been settled. I hope the players actually got a check this time and not a promise. I’d hate to see this shameful situation repeat itself. We’ve got a very important game tomorrow, I hope the players can make us proud and bring the ticket home. 

Eric Chelle and the players now have a good excuse to give to Nigerians if they lose the game against Gabon. The excuse is that they started preparations late due to the non-payment of their allowance. I wouldn't blame them because they have missed some training sessions due to the failure of the sports administrators to do the right thing at the right time. This is not the first time Nigerians have been disgraced by NFF over non-payment of players' wages.

[SatoPrincess]

According to Super Eagles captain, William Troost Ekong the matter has been settled. I hope the players actually got a check this time and not a promise. I’d hate to see this shameful situation repeat itself. We’ve got a very important game tomorrow, I hope the players can make us proud and bring the ticket home. 

Eric Chelle and the players now have a good excuse to give to Nigerians if they lose the game against Gabon. The excuse is that they started preparations late due to the non-payment of their allowance. I wouldn't blame them because they have missed some training sessions due to the failure of the sports administrators to do the right thing at the right time. This is not the first time Nigerians have been disgraced by NFF over non-payment of players' wages.

I don’t think there will be any need for excuses because we are going to win Gabon tomorrow. I haven’t heard any new information regarding the referee officiating in the game. Did FIFA change them or are we having SA referees and a Benin referee?

[Majestic-milf]

 So the NFF had to wait for the boys to take this drastic step before they'd pay them their monies owed since 2018? It's a shame that these bodies can't be relied upon to do the right thing until force is applied. Honestly, I feel I know who to blame for all the times the Super Eagles have been performing so poorly but I just hope that they'd get themselves in the right frame of mind for today's game against Gabon because in this playoffs, every point matters and it would be best if they always get the three points.

[Salahmu]

I just saw this post on Facebook and if this is really true it’s an insult on the Super Eagles and the Nigerian Football Federation, how can they select or chose such a place for them. These are not just street footballers, there are World stars and wealthy men representing their National team.
The way CAF or FIFA disregard Nigeria in some things is becoming very alarming, first they allowed officials from South Africa and Benin to officiate such a serious match without considering all the bias that may arise.

What do you guys think about this picture

I want to ask you a question from this comment i saw on this post, what does South Africa have to do with super eagles when they're not the country they are going to meet? Because somebody on the comments said it was the South Africa that gave them the place to stay. I don't no how the real look of this building is since we are only viewing it like this but however from this reaction of this super eagles player shows that is not okay for them to stay considering places they have been, this is the first or second time they have feel unpleasant on away match that has to do with there hotel accommodation.

[CryptSafe]

So the NFF had to wait for the boys to take this drastic step before they'd pay them their monies owed since 2018? It's a shame that these bodies can't be relied upon to do the right thing until force is applied. Honestly, I feel I know who to blame for all the times the Super Eagles have been performing so poorly but I just hope that they'd get themselves in the right frame of mind for today's game against Gabon because in this playoffs, every point matters and it would be best if they always get the three points.

This is quite unfortunate that NFF is still wallowing in corruption and this is corruption at its peak. How do they explain the fact that they are owing the players their bonuses as far back as 2018?.  I am very sure that the ministry of sports do release funds meant for players and other activities as well why will they not use the money accordingly to making sure the players and technical team are all settled?  This is corruption t it's peak.

Anyways, I would not blame the players for their actions as the NFF deserve whatever reactions they get from the players at this moment and that was a good calculated move by the players because of they had not done this it would have been very difficult to get their bonuses and maybe they might not be lucky again to be talking about it so they thought of using this opportunity to get what rightly belongs to them. NFF can not have it all at the same time let them do the right thing by making sure everything die the players be given to them to motivate them in putting in their best performances.

[tami40]

Snip

Now that there is an agreement between both parties, I hope it does not affect the performance of the players because these players do not often train together, and missing one training session could mean that the understanding between them diminishes.

If the Super Eagles fail to win in the game, I will still blame the NFF for the failure and the players because why did they even let it get to this stage in the first place? That is incompetence.

With so many controversy already in built up to this all important an winner takes it all games coming up , I have lost confidence in what the super eagles can do because first it was hotel and now players refusing to train due to a huge backlog of unpaid allowances. This is definitely going to affect our performance come tomorrow because our opponents have been training and concentrating ever since they arrived Morocco this is going to give them an hedge over Nigeria because as a Nigerian fan I can say that we are already distracted in focusing on the main thing we went there for.

You have not missed this part of frustration, and it is truly disappointing to find off field problems always troubling the Super Eagles on the eve of an important match. Hotel issues to unpaid allowances are some of the controversies that add unwarranted tension and demoralize the team. In instances where the players are distracted due to financial or organizational problems, then it is almost impossible to do 100 percent concentration on the pitch. In the meantime, our adversaries are performing the correct task of preparing, training, and holding together. This mismanagement is a sad story that has been replicated in Nigerian football many times, and it is becoming a bane of our performance at the major tournaments. One cannot have talent without organization and inspiration. The players must feel appreciated and encouraged so as to deliver their best. It is to be hoped that the situation can be changed in the nearest time since the fans of Nigeria really need a team that they will be proud and passionate about on and off the field.

[Majestic-milf]

This is quite unfortunate that NFF is still wallowing in corruption and this is corruption at its peak. How do they explain the fact that they are owing the players their bonuses as far back as 2018?.  I am very sure that the ministry of sports do release funds meant for players and other activities as well why will they not use the money accordingly to making sure the players and technical team are all settled?  This is corruption t it's peak.

Anyways, I would not blame the players for their actions as the NFF deserve whatever reactions they get from the players at this moment and that was a good calculated move by the players because of they had not done this it would have been very difficult to get their bonuses and maybe they might not be lucky again to be talking about it so they thought of using this opportunity to get what rightly belongs to them. NFF can not have it all at the same time let them do the right thing by making sure everything die the players be given to them to motivate them in putting in their best performances.

In all honesty, I'm not expecting much from the Super Eagles today because the team they play against isn't just a small one, we've got the likes of Pierre Aubameyang and we know that man is a veteran who knows his onions and they too would be looking to have a shot at playing in the WC so they wouldn't just hand out the three points to Nigeria, it would be a struggle. The question to ask now is; are the boys in the right frame of mind to deliver good results?

[Nightwatchmare]

I just saw this post on Facebook and if this is really true it’s an insult on the Super Eagles and the Nigerian Football Federation, how can they select or chose such a place for them. These are not just street footballers, there are World stars and wealthy men representing their National team.
The way CAF or FIFA disregard Nigeria in some things is becoming very alarming, first they allowed officials from South Africa and Benin to officiate such a serious match without considering all the bias that may arise.

What do you guys think about this picture

The story that is flying on social media that Morocco football association lodged the super eagles in a hotel that is below their standard is false because Alex Iwobi, who posted the picture on social media, has cleared the air that he was only showing a poor area in Morocco. Even if the story was true, the super eagles should not have been in this situation if they had qualified for the world cup automatically. CAF or FIFA doesn't have the right to detect the type of hotels players will lodge in because that is not part of their duty. The Morocco football association is responsible in allocating hotels to Gabon and Nigeria.

[Fiatless]

I don’t think there will be any need for excuses because we are going to win Gabon tomorrow. I haven’t heard any new information regarding the referee officiating in the game. Did FIFA change them or are we having SA referees and a Benin referee?

Checking the head-to-head of both teams, Nigeria is are favourite. They have met nine times and Nigeria won five times, three ended in a draw and Gabon won one. A team that didn't train properly might be rusty and hard to coordinate. Eric Chelle can claim that missing one or two training sessions affected the team's preparations. And everyone would see it as a genuine reason. 

There is no current news about the protest by Nigerian about the officiails. Maybe FIFA or CAF refused to make changes, who knows?

[snipie]

The story that is flying on social media that Morocco football association lodged the super eagles in a hotel that is below their standard is false because Alex Iwobi, who posted the picture on social media, has cleared the air that he was only showing a poor area in Morocco. Even if the story was true, the super eagles should not have been in this situation if they had qualified for the world cup automatically. CAF or FIFA doesn't have the right to detect the type of hotels players will lodge in because that is not part of their duty. The Morocco football association is responsible in allocating hotels to Gabon and Nigeria.

Yeah Alex Iwobi posted a video on social media about the view he has in the hotel. He didn't say any word but he made some gestures that could be understood as mocking the view. Yet that doesn't explain the outrageous reactions from people mainly in the hosting countries.
I don't know who picked the hotel and the rooms for the Nigerian selection but this is a mistake in my opinion especially if there is much noise.
Morocco is not sending good messages for the other nations at the time they are picked to host many African competitions..

[Son Of Blockchain (SOB)]

I just saw this post on Facebook and if this is really true it’s an insult on the Super Eagles and the Nigerian Football Federation, how can they select or chose such a place for them. These are not just street footballers, there are World stars and wealthy men representing their National team.
The way CAF or FIFA disregard Nigeria in some things is becoming very alarming, first they allowed officials from South Africa and Benin to officiate such a serious match without considering all the bias that may arise.

What do you guys think about this picture

I want to ask you a question from this comment i saw on this post, what does South Africa have to do with super eagles when they're not the country they are going to meet? Because somebody on the comments said it was the South Africa that gave them the place to stay. I don't no how the real look of this building is since we are only viewing it like this but however from this reaction of this super eagles player shows that is not okay for them to stay considering places they have been, this is the first or second time they have feel unpleasant on away match that has to do with there hotel accommodation.

Fans can be so emotional and sometimes channel their aggression to the wrong people, I wonder why someone would think that a South African and Benin officials would pick a hotel space for the Nigerian team in a Morrocan soil, it makes no sense and the statement is wrong.
 However the Morrocan Football Federation didn't try in their choice of accommodation for the Nigerian team, this is not the first time they're given an unfair treatment by an African nation and CAF really need to look into it, although Iwobi didn't given any negative statement in his post but from his reaction and the picture of the hotel he posted, you could tell that something is odd.