Super Eagles captain Wilfred Ndidi has pledged to personally pay his teammates’ and officials’ unpaid match bonuses at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco if the Federal Government fails to release the funds before Saturday’s quarter-final against Algeria.
Ndidi made the commitment during an interview with BBC journalist Oluwashina Okeleji on Thursday, following assurances from the Federal Government—via the Office of the Minister of State for Finance, Doris Uzoka-Anite—that payments would be fast-tracked between Thursday and Friday.
“I’ve been pushing the team to train and play the game vs Algeria. I’ve been doing this since the second game. I’ve now made a commitment to the staff and players that I’ll personally pay the bonuses if the authorities fail to before Saturday,” Ndidi said in a post on X. “I don’t want these unpaid bonuses to affect our preparations. I told players and coaching staff that I’d personally make the payments if they don’t get it.”
The Super Eagles camp was recently unsettled by reports that players and officials were considering boycotting travel to Marrakech and training on Thursday over unpaid bonuses for the three group-stage matches and the Round of 16.
In response, Minister Uzoka-Anite provided an update on Thursday, confirming that the group-stage funds had been released and cleared regulatory procedures, while subsequent payments would no longer face such delays.
“The Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria have successfully streamlined the foreign exchange processing to ensure our players are rewarded without further delay,” she wrote on X. “Going forward, the process will be fully streamlined to ensure faster, more predictable disbursements aligned with international best practice. All group stage bonuses were fully released and have now cleared the necessary regulatory stages.”
The minister also outlined a new process for future payments that allows for transfers in the players’ preferred currency. “We have implemented a fast-track conversion process to move funds into foreign currency, honoring the players’ preferences. The final transfers to domiciliary accounts are currently in flight. Players can expect these funds to reflect starting today (Thursday) or tomorrow (Friday).”
Ndidi and the Super Eagles arrived in Marrakech on Thursday and conducted another training session in preparation for their quarter-final clash against Algeria.
Nigeria is aiming to secure a fourth AFCON title in Morocco, having previously won the tournament in 1980, 1994, and 2013.
