Sports

NFF to receive FIFA $2m advance for Eagles

Published

6 years ago

May 1, 2018

The Nigeria Football Federation is to be given a $ 2 m advance by FIFA towards the preparations of the Super Eagles for the Russia 2018 World Cup next month.
The world football body will also give other four African football federations a $ 2 m advance each to pay player bonuses before the tournament .

The Confederation of African Football says the agreement for Egypt , Morocco , Nigeria , Senegal and Tunisia will help “settle beforehand the question of bonuses . ”

The 32 federations sending teams to the World Cup get $ 1 . 5 m each from FIFA to prepare , plus at least $ 8 m in prize money after the tournament . The winners get $ 38 m .

Money disputes at previous World Cups “affected badly the image of African football , with a considerable impact on team performances , ” CAF said.

At the 2014 World Cup , Cameroon arrived late , Ghana’s government had to fly in $ 3 m cash to avert a strike and Nigeria players cancelled a team practice , according to AP .

According to a report on the CAF official website , the decision comes on the heels of negotiations initiated by CAF president Ahmad with the FIFA administration, leading to the exceptional agreement granted on April 12 .

This follows a decision by the CAF Emergency Committee on December 1 , and ratified by the CAF Executive Committee on January 10 .

The meeting had agreed on providing exceptional financial support to the five African representatives towards their preparations for the impending tournament in Russia .

“This agreement, for an advance on the financial allocation by FIFA , aims to allow representatives at World Cups to have a harmonious preparation .

“It will also help to settle beforehand the question of bonuses due the players , which in the previous editions of the competitions has led to situations which affected badly the image of African football, with a considerable impact on team performances ,” Ahmad said .