NFF vs Super Eagles Conflict: A Risky Betrayal of Nigerians and Underestimating Gabon
On the eve of one of the most important football matches in Nigeria’s modern history, the Super Eagles are not preparing on the training pitch. They are negotiating at the conference table.
Yes, you read that right.
The Nigerian national team, Africa’s once-proud standard-bearers, refused to train on Tuesday in Rabat, Morocco. Their protest? Years of unpaid bonuses and allowances owed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
And this comes less than 48 hours before a crucial World Cup playoff semi-final against Gabon, a match that could either propel the nation closer to the 2026 World Cup or crush those dreams entirely.
If Nigeria beat Gabon, they will face either Cameroon or DR Congo for one last ticket to the tournament. If they lose, that’s it. No second chances.
Yet, 24 hours to kick-off, Nigeria’s camp looks more like a labour dispute forum than a football preparation base. What a tragedy of timing.
NFF vs Super Eagles: The unpaid debts that broke the camel’s back
By Wednesday morning, it became clear this was not an ordinary tantrum. The players’ frustration runs deep; years of unfulfilled promises, unpaid bonuses, and endless waiting.
The NFF, reportedly owing backlogs of allowances stretching back to previous squads and coaching crews, has turned a proud football nation into a soap opera of distrust.
According to insiders, the players did not make any ‘special demand.’ The NFF itself had earlier proposed a financial settlement figure, one the players claim still hasn’t been honoured. But this protest, the players say, goes beyond the money. They are standing up for future generations; for accountability, respect, and a system that no longer treats patriotism as something to be exploited.
The truth, as always, is bitter: Nigeria’s best ambassadors, those who raise the flag, thrill the fans, and bring joy to millions, are often being owed for their service.
Meanwhile, money flows easily into political patronage, travel allowances, and hollow projects. How can a nation that spends lavishly on trivialities fail to pay its heroes? How can those who sweat and bleed for national pride be left waiting in hotel lobbies for years for what they earned honourably on the pitch?
The people’s betrayal
Across the country, the mood is a blend of disbelief and anger. Nigerians feel betrayed; by the NFF for mismanagement, by the players for choosing such a delicate moment to make their stand. Everyone is pointing fingers.
“The Super Eagles are at fault.
“The NFF is corrupt.”
“Why protest now, when qualification is at stake?”
“How can the federation still owe bonuses when FIFA, the NSC, and the federal government release funds regularly?”
But beneath the arguments lies one undeniable truth: Nigerians have been let down… again.
When the Super Eagles defeated Benin 4–0 in October to scrape into the playoffs, NFF President Ibrahim Gusau promised that “no stone would be left unturned” to prepare the team.
“Our preparations are on course,” he had said. “Everything will work out well. The team has the potential. Now it’s about staying focused and finishing strong.”
Well, the stones have clearly been left unturned, and perhaps even rolled downhill.
Super Eagles: Promises and pain
The players, too, made promises. Captain William Troost-Ekong had spoken passionately about leading this “exciting generation” back to the World Cup.
Paris FC winger Moses Simon told the BBC:
“We have the quality, we have what it takes to win. I believe this is my last chance to play at the World Cup, so I have to do my best to take it.”
These words lifted millions of Nigerian hearts. Fans assumed the team was unified, motivated, and properly backed by the NFF.
But the illusion cracked when Alex Iwobi posted a video hinting that the team’s hotel in Rabat was below expected standard. The federation quickly denied the claims, and Iwobi was nudged to issue a ‘clarification’, but the damage was done.
Hours later, the boycott began. And with it, a deep sense of betrayal that ran through every corner of Nigerian football.
Nigerians had believed everyone was rowing in the same direction; NFF, players, and fans alike. Instead, they woke to find the oars broken.
Nigeria: The dangerous underestimation of Gabon
Behind this chaos lies another problem. One far more subtle, yet potentially disastrous: overconfidence.
The Super Eagles, in choosing to protest now, seem to be betting that they can still defeat Gabon without training. Their actions whisper arrogance.
But only a fool underestimates Gabon.
On paper, Nigeria hold the advantage: ranked 41st to Gabon’s 77th, three-time AFCON champions against a team that has never even reached an AFCON semifinal. Yet football, as history reminds us, does not respect rankings.
Gabon’s Panthers boast a tightly knit squad, with a core that has played together for years. They have two top-class forwards in Denis Bouanga and the evergreen Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the only African player to have worn the shirts of Arsenal, Chelsea, and Barcelona.
Even history warns Nigeria to tread carefully.
In 1989, Gabon famously denied Nigeria a place at the 1990 World Cup with a 2–1 victory. It is the only win Gabon has registered against the Super Eagles in nine previous meetings.
A draw in that encounter would have sealed Nigeria’s place at Italia ’90 with a game to spare. In the end, when Nigeria needed a draw against Cameroon to reach a first-ever World Cup, the Eagles fell to the Indomitable Lions in Yaoundé, haunted by that loss to the Panthers. One careless performance, one bad day, and dreams were shattered.
Now, as fate would have it, history threatens to repeat itself.
NFF vs Super Eagles: One day to decide everything
The situation is salvageable, but only just.
There are still enough hours for the NFF and the players to settle their dispute and restore focus before the ball rolls at Rabat’s Complexe Sportif Prince Héritier Moulay El Hassan.
If Nigeria wins, all will be forgiven. If they lose, the bitterness will linger for years, not just because of a football result, but because of what it symbolises: a nation that cannot get out of its own way.
Let the wise in the NFF and among the players take heed. The whistle will soon blow, and when it does, the entire country will be watching, not just to see goals scored, but to see whether Nigeria has finally learned from its mistakes.