Nigeria’s female national team, Super Falcons are bound to collect in two batches the rewards that were promised them for winning a 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title, Sports247 gathered.
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Although agitations almost reached boiling point last year over the unsettled rewards, the Falcons appear set for a longer wait for their money, but they will get houses and national honours next month.
This follows assurances provided by National Sports Commission (NSC) chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko, who gave details of how houses, national awards and money promised the squad by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will be handed over to the players, coaches and staff.
According to Dikko, the squad will receive the first batch of rewards when they open camp for a pre-WAFCON build-up competition, which is scheduled to start in Ivory Coast on February 27th, while the second log will be ‘before’ the Nations Cup begins.
While the arrangement is bound to cause heated reactions among the Falcons’ players, coaches and backroom staff, Dikko emphasised that everything is being done to ensure that all the rewards are duly handed out to those who deserve them.
Dikko affirmed, “The women never let us down, and they always watch our back in Nigeria. So, we must do what we have to do for them.
“We are arranging their houses and national honours. Everything is already available and will be handed over to them when they resume camp.”
The NSC’s top official then served a hint that the monetary awards of $100,000 for each of the players as well as $50,000 for the coaches and staff are still work in progress, as he pointed out that its disbursement process has to move through the Federal Ministry of Finance.
“We’ve also been working closely with the Ministry of Finance and everybody in charge to make sure all that we are supposed to do for them will be available before the WAFCON.
“Definitely, we have to do that as much as possible to help their preparations,” said Dikko, who stopped short of giving exact dates for each of the batches to be settled by the authorities.
Sports247, however, notes that the Falcons will play against Senegal, Ghana and hosts Cote d’Ivoire from February 27 to March 7 during a build-up competition for WAFCON 2026, which will run from March 17th to April 3rd in Morocco.
All four semi-finalists from the continental competition will qualify to play at the next FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will take place from June 24 to July 25, 2027 in Brazil.
