Sports

We Begged For Money To Celebrate Christmas – Flamingos Players Lament

Published

3 years ago

January 10, 2023

Seventy-two days after beating Germany to finish third at the U-17 Women’s World Cup in India, players and officials of the Flamingos are yet to receive their allowances and match bonuses with some of the players telling The PUNCH they virtually went begging for money to celebrate the Yuletide.

It was learnt that while their camping allowances from February 6 to June 5, 2022, had been paid, the team’s bonuses for qualifying matches they played against Congo, Egypt and Ethiopia were yet to be paid.

The World Cup bonuses for the matches against Chile, New Zealand, U.S.A, and Germany had also not been paid to officials and players of the Flamingos.

One of the players, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of being victimised, said she and her teammates begged for money to celebrate Christmas and New Year.

“The NFF is yet to pay us our match bonuses and some other benefits and these are what we need to survive,” the player told The PUNCH.

“Since we came back from India, we haven’t heard anything and we are already losing hope. Some of us are not as privileged as other kids and we had to beg for money to celebrate Christmas and New Year.”

Another Flamingos player added, “Christmas was hell for me because I was broke. This is because aside from the camp bonuses that were paid to us, we are yet to receive other bonuses and it is discouraging.

“Football is everything I know and it’s what I intend to use to take care of myself, but unfortunately we are still owed our match bonuses and other benefits from the qualifiers for the World Cup. I sent messages to relatives asking them to send me money to celebrate Christmas, but in reality, I should have been the one sending them money after playing at the World Cup.

“We learned that some individuals have redeemed their financial pledges to the team but we are yet to receive them from the NFF.

“President of the NFF, Ibrahim Gusau and Alhaji Balele both promised us $10,000 each for winning the third-place match, while the founder of Naija Ratels, Paul Edeh, also promised the team the sum of N3.1m. We hope the Presidency will help us because some of us are practically begging for money.”

The PUNCH also gathered that players of the Falconets, who crashed out from the the quarter-final stage of the 2022 U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica, were also yet to be paid.

One of the outstanding players in the squad told The PUNCH, “Since I returned from the World Cup in August I haven’t visited my home state because nobody will believe a World Cup player can’t even buy socks for her friends.

“We played eight qualifiers to qualify for the World Cup and we were given just N50,000 each for qualification. At the World Cup proper, we were paid just $500 as camp allowance, while the NFF pledged to pay us our bonuses. As I speak with you, we haven’t heard from them. I couldn’t send anything home to my family for the Christmas and New Year celebrations.

“After we slept on bare floor at the Istanbul airport in Turkey, we were given just N40,000 each for transportation by road to our various states amid the insecurity in the country. They couldn’t even pay for our flights back home. And now they have refused to pay us our money.”

The General Secretary of the NFF, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, declined to comment on the matter, and directed our correspondent to the federation’s Communications Director, Ademola Olajire.

“They have not been paid but they will be paid,” Olajire said when contacted. “I don’t work in the accounts (department) but I know that they will be paid whatever they are owed.”
PUNCH

Sports

JUST IN: Dembélé Named FIFA Best Men’s Player, Bonmatí Wins Women’s Award

Published

3 days ago

December 16, 2025

Editor

Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembélé has been awarded the FIFA Best Men’s Player for 2025, following a season in which he contributed significantly to both his club and the France national team.

Dembélé, known for his pace, creativity, and goal-scoring ability, played a central role in Paris Saint-Germain’s campaigns across domestic and European competitions. His performances for the national team also helped France secure notable results in international fixtures.

Speaking on the recognition, Dembélé said, “It is a great honour to receive this award. I could not have achieved this without my teammates at PSG and in the national team, whose support has been invaluable.”

In the women’s category, Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmatí was named FIFA Best Women’s Player for 2025. Bonmatí was influential in Barcelona’s domestic and European campaigns, providing leadership, vision, and creativity in midfield. She also played a key role in Spain’s international successes.

“This award reflects the hard work of my teammates and coaches,” Bonmatí said. “I am grateful for their guidance and support throughout the season.”

The announcements reaffirm FIFA’s recognition of individual excellence in football while highlighting the contributions of players to both club and country.

Sports

Court Fixes Date To Hear Sala Compensation Dispute

Published

1 week ago

December 9, 2025

Editor

A commercial court examining the long-running dispute between Cardiff City and French club Nantes over compensation for the death of Emiliano Sala in a plane crash said Monday it would give its decision on March 30 next year.

Sala, a 28-year-old Argentine striker, died when the light aircraft taking him to the Welsh capital came down in the English Channel on January 21, 2019, two days after he had signed for the then-Premier League side. He and pilot David Ibbotson were killed.

The Welsh club took the case to the Nantes commercial court in 2023 to claim compensation for loss of income and other damages suffered by the club as a result of the player’s death.

Following an analysis conducted by an expert appointed by Cardiff City, the club estimated their losses at over 120 million euros ($139.5 million). Lawyers for both clubs made their cases at Monday’s hearing.

The Welsh club argue that Nantes, through their intermediary, agent Willie McKay, were the organisers of the private flight on which the footballer was travelling and that, if the transfer was effective at the time of the accident according to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), it is the organisation of this flight that is at issue.

Cardiff City’s lawyer, Olivier Loizon, told the court Monday, Willie McKay “could not have been unaware of the illegality of the flight”, and argued that the agent had acted with “negligence”.

“Whatever the ultimate cause of the accident, (Sala) should not have been on the flight,” he added.

Nantes’ lawyer, Jerome Marsaudon, insisted Monday the only agent authorised by the club in connection with the transfer was Mark McKay, the son of Willie McKay.

The elder McKay “was simply helping his son, given his extensive experience”, the lawyer said.

“It is sad to see that Cardiff have exploited this tragedy and turned it into a genuine legal farce,” he added. “Nothing in this case justifies holding FC Nantes liable.”

Prior to the start of the hearing, a Nantes representative said the club “have no doubt that Cardiff’s claims will be rejected outright, just like all the others”.

In another case related to the dispute between the two clubs, CAS ruled in 2022 that Sala’s transfer had definitely been finalised at the time of his death.

In 2023, world football’s governing body FIFA ordered Cardiff to pay Nantes the balance of Sala’s transfer fee, which at the time amounted to just over 11 million euros out of a total of 17 million euros.

Sports

Salah A ‘Disgrace’ For Liverpool Outburst – Carragher

Published

1 week ago

December 9, 2025

Editor

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher labelled Mohamed Salah “a disgrace” on Monday after the Egypt star’s stunning outburst at Reds boss Arne Slot.

Salah said he had been “thrown under a bus” and had no relationship with Slot after he was left on the bench for last Saturday’s 3-3 draw at Leeds.

It was the third successive game that Salah had been kept out of the starting line-up by Slot amid the forward’s loss of form this season.

In response to Salah’s astonishing rant to reporters, Liverpool axed the 33-year-old from the squad for Tuesday’s Champions League clash at Inter Milan.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, Carragher, a 2005 Champions League winner with Liverpool, said: “I thought it was a disgrace what he did after the game.

“Some people have painted it as an emotional outburst. I don’t think it was. I think whenever Mo Salah stops in a mixed zone, which he has done four times in eight years at Liverpool, it’s choreographed with his agent to cause maximum damage and strengthen his own position.

“He’s chosen this weekend to do this now, and he’s waited I think for a bad result… everyone involved with the club (feeling) like they’re in the gutter, and he’s chosen that time to go for the manager and maybe try to get him sacked.”

Salah is a two-time Premier League champion with Liverpool and has also won the Champions League during his iconic eight-year spell at Anfield.

But, although he only signed a new contract in April, Salah hinted he might have played his last game for Liverpool as he prepares to jet off to the African Cup of Nations after their Premier League clash with Brighton at Anfield on Saturday.

Salah has been linked with a lucrative move to the Saudi Pro League and and Carragher added: “What he’s done off the pitch, I think the club have made the right decision in terms of him not going abroad. Whether he will play for Liverpool again, I don’t know.

“I hope he does, because he’s one of the greatest players we’ve ever had, but if you continue like that, and statements like that, if he doesn’t play, who knows.”