The President of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Gusau, recently appeared before a special committee of the House of Representatives to address concerns about unpaid allowances for members of the national women’s football team, the Super Falcons.
During the session, Gusau clarified that the funds allocated for the team were used for training camps and friendly matches.
Gusau informed the committee that the NFF had received a specific allocation of funds for the preparation of the Super Falcons for the World Cup.
He explained that all 32 nations that qualified for the tournament were granted $960,000 each to aid their preparation efforts. He emphasized that this money was designated solely for the purpose of preparing the team and not intended for player welfare.
The NFF President went on to outline how the allocated funds were utilized. He mentioned that in January, the team participated in a training tournament that included four nations: Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nigeria.
The preparation money provided by FIFA was utilized for this tournament. The team underwent a 13-day training camp in Mexico and later, in March, held another training camp in Turkey.
Gusau clarified that the money was disbursed to cover the team’s logistical needs during these training periods. He highlighted that the funds were not intended to cover outstanding payments for qualification matches that had taken place earlier.
Using the allocated funds for purposes other than team preparation could potentially lead to inquiries from FIFA’s auditors, as the money was earmarked specifically for that purpose.
Furthermore, Gusau made it clear that the allocated funds could not be retroactively used for past matches, such as qualifiers from 2019. He emphasized the importance of adhering to the intended use of the funds as stipulated by FIFA.
