A handful of players in the Super Falcons have spoken out on the unjust treatment they have had to face in the hands of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF).

The players who represented Nigeria at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in July recently spoke with The Athletic, The New York Times sports news subsidiary, on the issue.

In the article published on Saturday, the players complained about the NFF’s financial mismanagement and ill treatment of players. The players aired their grievances anonymously.

“They don’t treat us as if we are here to play for our country, they treat us as if we are slaves,” one of the players said.

READ ALSO: Athletes Washing Their Jerseys and 3 Other Tokyo 2020 Embarrassments for Nigeria

Going into the tournament, the NFF had reached an agreement with the players to pay a $100 (£81) daily camp allowance, a $3,000 win bonus, and $1,500 draw bonus to each player.

After the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) revealed each player at the 2023 World Cup would receive a minimum of $30,000 (with amounts increasing if they move past the group stage), Nigeria’s players said that the NFF officials verbally went back on their initial payment agreements.

The players said the officials told them that the bonuses previously agreed upon would be a part of the FIFA payments.

“We disagreed, we told them ‘no’. You can’t come and tell us you’re not paying us our match bonuses… How can you tell me FIFA included your match bonus (in its money)? They take us as if we are fools, as if we don’t know anything, as if we don’t know our rights,” a player who was in Nigeria’s 2023 FIFA World Cup squad told The Athletic.

Another player claimed each member of the Super Falcons was owed $2,300 in wages for 23 days spent in camp before the team’s round-of-16 tie against England.

At that point, the NFF had only paid each player $1,000 in cash. The players were later promised that the remaining $1,300 would be sent to their bank accounts soon.

The player told The Athletic she had not received the second payment or any of her match bonuses at the time of the interview.

“The federation will just decide on what they are going to pay players…it could be anything,” another Super Falcon explained.

“If you don’t fight them, if you don’t ask for it, they are never going to pay you.”

READ ALSO: FG Fails to Acknowledge Nigerians Who Set New World Records at Commonwealth Games

According to the players, the NFF had made several moves to silence them. These players and Randy Waldrum, their head coach, once claimed the federation made a scapegoat of some players for complaining about its ill-treatment of players.

A player only had to complain loud enough to be blacklisted and risk being left out of national team duties.

“When you speak up, then you become the black sheep,” one of Nigeria’s World Cup players said.

“They are so egocentric, they are so full of themselves. A player speaks up against all the wrong things they are doing and then you’re telling the player to write an apology. For what?” another Nigerian player added.

The Athletic, in its report, stated that FIFA disbursed about $950,000 in preparation money to the qualifying federations for the 2023 World Cup.

A portion of that money got to the NFF. The NFF is also expected to receive an additional $1.87 million in prize money because the Super Falcons got to the round-of-16 segment of the 2023 world cup tournament.

This money is different from the $60,000 each member of the Super Falcons’ 23-player squad is supposed to get.

The players expressed doubt that the NFF would let them have their prize money. Their pessimism is directly linked to non-payment of their overdue allowances by the NFF. The federation had been holding on to the allowance long before the 2023 FIFA World Cup commenced.

READ ALSO: Athlete’s iPhone 13 Pro Max Stolen in NIPOST’s Care

Another member of the Nigerian football team said that the facilities the NFF offered the Super Falcons for their training, travels and accommodation were not good enough despite the funds the NFF received from FIFA.

“You’re not afraid of getting injured when an opposing player tackles you, you’re more afraid the state of the field will hurt you,” the player said.

She went on to talk about the incessant visa and flight problems the team constantly faced when travelling for tournaments because the federation would not sought logistics out on time.

Another Super Falcon player said she had to sleep at the airport on one of their recent trips as a result of the NFF’s logistic errors.

“We’re not playing for the federation, we’re playing for ourselves, playing for our country, playing for our families,” said a Nigerian player. “We love football, we have passion for it…and that passion is what gives us that drive.

“We need to have people who are passionate about the game governing our football, people who have gone through the system, people who know what it entails to be on the field…people who really understand.

“The decisions they’re making for Nigerian football are not in the best interest of the country.”