By Andrew Warshaw
June 14 – A row over bonus payments that threatened to halt Nigeria’s participation in the Confederations Cup has been diffused at the 11th hour – with the squad en route to Brazil albeit 24 hours later than scheduled.
The row saw the squad holed up in a Namibia hotel but Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke acted as go-between to make sure the African champions took their place in the eight-nation tournament.
“I’ve spoken with the team manager and they will be in the plane on Saturday and they will arrive for the Confederations Cup. The problem is solved,” Valcke told a news conference in Rio de Janeiro.
Nigeria’s squad were supposed to leave Windhoek for Johannesburg, one day after drawing 1-1 with Namibia in a World Cup qualifier, to connect with a flight to Brazil. But the players refused to leave because of a row over promised payments for points garnered in their World Cup qualifying campaign.
Sources said bonuses had been halved from $10,000 to $5,000 by the Nigerian Football Federation and that the players threatened to go on strike until they received assurances they would get the sums owed.
Nigeria, not for the first time embroiled in controversy, are due to play their first game in the Confederations Cup against rank outsiders Tahiti in Belo Horizonte on Monday.
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