Sports
We Begged For Money To Celebrate Christmas – Flamingos Players Lament
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.
READ ALSO: U-17 WWC: Why We Lost To Germany — Flamingos Coach, Olowookere
“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.
READ ALSO: Flamingos Trash DR Congo 5 Nill In Benin
“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
Ancelotti Tells Neymar To Prepare Well For World Cup
New Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti considers Neymar “a very important player” and has urged the injury-prone star “to prepare well” for the 2026 World Cup.
“He must prepare well and he has the time to do that,” the Italian said in an interview with the South American football federation on Thursday.
“He’s a very important player for us regarding the World Cup,” Ancelotti added.
READ ALSO:2025/2026 Carabao Cup First Round Draw Confirmed [Full fixtures]
Neymar, 33, extended his contract with Brazilian side Santos to the end of the year this week.
Neymar’s career has been dogged by injury, and he has only played 12 matches in five months for Santos, scoring three goals.
Brazil’s top scorer with 79 goals was missing from Ancelotti’s first squad at the end of May.
With Neymar absent five-time world champions Brazil qualified for next year’s World Cup with a 1-0 win over Paraguay this month.
AFP
Sports
2025/2026 Carabao Cup First Round Draw Confirmed [Full fixtures]
The first round draw for the 2025/26 Carabao Cup was held on Thursday evening, setting up a series of exciting ties across the English Football League (EFL).
Reigning champions Newcastle United, along with other Premier League clubs, were not included in this stage of the competition. Their entry will come in the later rounds.
A standout fixture from the draw sees Coventry City face Luton Town: a repeat of the dramatic 2023 Championship play-off final, reigniting a recent rivalry between the two sides.
Recently relegated Leicester City will begin their Carabao Cup journey with an away trip to Huddersfield Town, while Birmingham City square off against fellow former Premier League side Sheffield United in another high-profile clash.
READ ALSO:Club World Cup 2025: 8 Teams Qualify For Round Of 16
Here is the full draw for the Carabao Cup:
Carabao Cup First Round Draw in Full
Southern Section:
Coventry City vs Luton Town
Bristol City vs MK Dons
Bromley vs Ipswich Town
Bristol Rovers vs Cambridge United
Leyton Orient vs Wycombe Wanderers
Watford vs Norwich City
Charlton Athletic vs Stevenage
Oxford United vs Colchester United
READ ALSO:PSG Beat Reims To Win French Cup Ahead Of Champions League Final
Barnet or Newport County vs Millwall
Cardiff City vs Swindon Town
Gillingham vs AFC Wimbledon
Northampton Town vs Southampton
Cheltenham Town vs Exeter City
Plymouth Argyle vs QPR
Swansea City vs Crawley Town
Portsmouth vs Reading
Northern Section:
Barrow vs Preston North End
Grimsby Town vs Shrewsbury Town
Blackpool vs Port Vale
Salford City vs Rotherham United
Harrogate Town vs Lincoln City
Tranmere Rovers vs Burton Albion
Stockport County vs Crewe Alexandra
READ ALSO:Man City Sink Forest To Reach Third Successive FA Cup Final
Huddersfield Town vs Leicester City
Wrexham vs Hull City
Birmingham City vs Sheffield United
Stoke City vs Walsall
Accrington Stanley/Oldham
Athletic vs Peterborough United
Blackburn Rovers vs Bradford City
Middlesbrough vs Doncaster Rovers
West Bromwich Albion vs Derby County
Bolton Wanderers vs Sheffield Wednesday
Chesterfield vs Mansfield Town
Barnsley vs Fleetwood Town
Wigan Athletic vs Notts County
The ties will be played in early August as clubs look to make an early mark in the domestic cup competition.
Sports
Cristiano Ronaldo Pens Deal With Al Nassr Until 2027
Cristiano Ronaldo inked a two-year extension with Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr, the club announced Thursday, following months of speculation over which team he would sign for next season.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is staying at @AlNassrFC until 2027,” the club wrote in a post on X.
Minutes before the official confirmation, the team posted a teaser video, with the 40-year-old Ronaldo walking along a beachfront and saying: “Al Nassr forever”.
The Portuguese superstar arrived in 2023 in the kingdom to play with the club, heralding a rush of players in the latter stages of their careers to the oil-rich country.
READ ALSO:
Last month, Ronaldo posted “This chapter is over” hours after the Saudi Pro League wrapped up with Al Nassr finishing third and trophyless once again.
“Ronaldo’s presence is a key factor in developing the Saudi league in the last two years and a half. He opens the door for elite and young players to come to Saudi Arabia,” a source from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), a major investor in Saudi football, told AFP last month.
The oil-funded PIF, the sovereign wealth fund behind a number of big-ticket Saudi investments, controls a group of Pro League clubs including Al Nassr, Al Hilal and Al Ahli.
Ronaldo’s announcement in May came just months after Brazilian star Neymar ended his injury-plagued 18-month stay in January, after playing just seven times for Al Hilal — on a reported salary of around $104 million a year.
READ ALSO:
Although Ronaldo was the Pro League’s top scorer with 25 goals, he has been unable to win a Saudi or continental trophy with Al Nassr, who lost in the Asian Champions League semi-finals last month.
Last year, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner said he could end his career with Al Nassr, the Riyadh team favoured by a number of Saudi royals.
Saudi Arabia has shaken up football by spending heavily on stars from Europe, starting with Ronaldo’s move, and the desert nation will host the World Cup in 2034.
AFP
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