The global football players' union Fifpro confirmed Tuesday it is assisting the Nigeria women's team in their ongoing dispute with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) over unpaid wages.
Head coach Randy Waldrum drew backlash from the NFF after sharing on podcasts that some of his players are owed bonuses and camp allowances going back two years, and he himself is owed seven months of salary. Waldrum has also been outspoken about the lack of preparation and resources available to the women's team.
According to the Fifpro statement, which was released following Nigeria's loss to England on penalties in the round of 16, the players did not comment on the dispute while playing in the Women's World Cup because they wanted to remain focused, but "believe that it is now time for the Nigeria Football Federation to honour their commitments and pay the outstanding amounts."
"The team is extremely frustrated that they have had to pursue the Nigeria Football Federation for these payments before and during the tournament and may have to continue doing so afterwards. It is regrettable that players needed to challenge their own federation at such an important time in their careers."
"Fifpro will continue to work with the players to ensure their contractual rights are honoured and the outstanding payments are settled."
Similar disputes led to the team, who are 11-times champions of the Africa Cup of Nations, staging sit-ins at the 2019 World Cup and the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations, as well as boycott rumours ahead of this World Cup after the NFF went back on its promise to pay 30% of its tournament fee directly to players, saying that the payments from Fifa were sufficient.
After the defeat to England, Nigerian forward Ifeoma Onumonu was quoted in the Guardian as saying, "I've seen what England have access to. In Nigeria, we don't have access to much. Our training fields aren't great. Where we sleep isn't great. Sometimes we share beds."
"It's not good enough. In terms of recovery, we don't have much of any of that. We don't have access to a gym in camp in Nigeria. There's a lot that needs to be done."
"Hopefully more people will start to talk about it. Coming here it's hard to adjust. We do what we can because we love playing for our country, but hopefully they make it easier for us to do our best."
