{"id":28048,"date":"2014-06-27T17:28:02","date_gmt":"2014-06-27T17:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=28048"},"modified":"2014-06-27T17:28:02","modified_gmt":"2014-06-27T17:28:02","slug":"world-cup-2014-nigeria-assured-by-president-over-bonuses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2014\/06\/world-cup-2014-nigeria-assured-by-president-over-bonuses\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup 2014: Nigeria assured by President over bonuses"},"content":{"rendered":"
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has assured the country’s senior players at the World Cup that the squad will be paid their bonus money.<\/p>\n
The president’s guarantee comes a day after after the Super Eagles players boycotted training on Thursday.<\/p>\n
BBC Sport understands Nigeria’s players fear they will not be paid after the tournament – a situation that occurred after last year’s Confederations Cup.<\/p>\n
Nigeria play France in the last 16 of the tournament on Monday.<\/p>\n
While the players have demanded they receive their money now, the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) is not in a position to make that payment until it receives its prize money from Fifa.<\/p>\n
It is that impasse that has led President Jonathan to intervene.<\/p>\n
There also appears to be an issue over the amount the players think they are owed.<\/p>\n
BBC Sport understands the players believe they are each $15,000 (\u00a38,800) short of what they were expecting for\u00a0reaching the last 16\u00a0<\/a>in Brazil.<\/p>\n It is thought the problem lies in the interpretation of the bonus structure, with the players believing they will only receive $10,000 for their win\u00a01-0 over Bosnia-Hercegovina<\/a>\u00a0and $5,000 for the\u00a00-0 draw with Iran.<\/a><\/p>\n The players’ understanding was they would receive a $30,000 payment for qualifying from the group.<\/p>\n However, it is believed the NFF’s offer to the players includes the agreed win and draw bonuses plus 30% of the prize money due from Fifa for reaching the knockout stage.<\/p>\n This is understood to rise to 40% of the prize money from Fifa if Nigeria were to win their round of 16 match, 50% for a quarter-final victory, 60% for a win in the semi-final stage and 70% for lifting the trophy.<\/p>\n While all parties work to find a resolution to the misunderstanding, coach Stephen Keshi has insisted it will not affect the team’s performance.<\/p>\n And it has been confirmed to the BBC that the players will travel to Brasilia on Friday as scheduled and will train in the evening and over the weekend.<\/p>\n It is not the first time the Super Eagles have made a stance over money – last year they arrived late for the Confederations Cup in Brazil.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has assured the country’s senior players at the World Cup that the squad will be paid their bonus money. The president’s guarantee comes a day after after the Super Eagles players boycotted training on Thursday. BBC Sport understands Nigeria’s players fear they will not be paid after the tournament – a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":28049,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[29,3,38],"yoast_head":"\n