The Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung and the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), have left the country for the UK, where they are expected to sign a new contract with kit manufacturing giants, Nike.
Their trip comes amid the rancour with the senior national women’s team, the Super Falcons, who are still on a sit-in protest in an Abuja hotel, over unpaid bonuses and allowances.
The Falcons have been holed up in the hotel since they arrived in the country from the competition and have vowed not to release the trophy, until they receive their entitlements.
Although the NFF promised to pay off the outstanding debts, they also admitted they currently don’t have the funds to.
One of the players told BBC Sport that they are owed as much as US$23,650 (about N11.5 million) per player.
“We are not leaving this hotel and we have not been told exactly when we are going to get paid,” the player, who insisted on anonymity, said.
“The plan is to stay here until we all receive the money because the moment we leave there will be no opportunity to get it again.”
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