Some members of the 2023 and 2025 sets of Nigeria’s men’s U-20 team, the Flying Eagles, have called on the Nigeria Football Federation to settle all their outstanding qualification bonuses and camp allowances for major tournaments over the past three years, The PUNCH reports.
The PUNCH understands that the two squads, which featured in the WAFU B Cup, U-20 AFCON and the U-20 World Cup in 2023 and 2025, are still owed qualification bonuses for participating in six major tournaments within the period, as well as pre-tournament camp allowances covering about 65 days.
Led by coach Ladan Bosso, the Flying Eagles qualified for the 2023 U-20 AFCON and also beat the Benin Republic in the final of the WAFU B Cup. They finished third at the U-20 AFCON in Egypt and also qualified for the U-20 World Cup in Argentina, where they were beaten by South Korea in the quarter-finals.
Two years later, under coach Aliyu Zubair, the team lost the WAFU B Cup final 1–0 to Ivory Coast but had already done enough to qualify for the U-20 AFCON. They defeated Senegal on penalties to reach the semi-finals and secure a World Cup ticket. They eventually finished fourth at the tournament before being eliminated at the World Cup in Chile after a 4–0 defeat to Argentina in the round of 16.
According to a source within the federation, the promised qualification bonus for each tournament was $5,000 per player and member of the backroom staff, while pre-tournament camp allowances were $100 per day.
The PUNCH further understands that the NFF promised the teams qualification bonuses after the Amaju Pinnick-led board scrapped match bonuses for all age-grade teams in 2017.
Some team members claim the NFF is only interested in paying daily allowances and not the qualification bonuses.
‘We have information that they don’t want to pay all the money. We are told they only want to pay the outstanding daily allowances, which may mean avoiding the qualification bonuses. In 2023, there are about 25 days of outstanding allowances, which is about $2,500 each, and in 2025, there are about 40 days, amounting to $4,000 each’, one of the members of the team said.
Another source told The PUNCH that the NFF is moving to offset the debts ahead of its elective congress.
‘At the last executive meeting, they said it was important to reduce some of the debts, especially at the Flying Eagles level, so it will not be used against them during the elections’, the source said.
In response, the General Secretary of the NFF, Mohammed Sanusi, told The PUNCH that the federation is working to settle the payments accordingly.
‘If I were them, I would have waited to see. What evidence do they have that the NFF is planning to neglect part of the money?’ Sanusi said.
Asked if the NFF would pay everything soon, he added, ‘It can’t be all at once, but a substantial amount will be paid. All the matches they took part in were approved, and we are working with that’.
The NFF has also been rocked by bonus issues involving the Super Eagles during the 2025 AFCON and the ill-fated 2026 World Cup playoffs.
In 2023, the House of Representatives Committee on Sports also summoned top NFF officials over the Flying Eagles’ bonuses and allowances.
