Super Falcons captain, Rasheedat Ajibade, has disclosed that the team is still awaiting the $100,000 cash reward and other benefits promised by the Federal Government following their triumph at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.
Speaking in an interview with media personality Chude Jideonwo, Ajibade expressed disappointment over the delay, noting that none of the commitments made to the team had been fulfilled.
The Falcons staged a dramatic comeback in July to defeat hosts Morocco 3-2 in the final, securing their 10th WAFCON title. Upon their return to Nigeria, the team was hosted at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where President Bola Ahmed Tinubu conferred national honours of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) on the players and their technical crew.
At the event, Tinubu announced a reward package of $100,000 and a three-bedroom apartment for each player, while members of the technical crew were to receive $50,000 each. He praised the team’s resilience, calling the victory “a triumph of courage, determination, and consistency.”
“Today, you returned home as champions of Africa. We could not be prouder,” the President said, adding that the match had been so tense he almost stopped watching.
Ajibade dedicated the win to “every young girl in our villages, towns and cities who dares to dream,” and expressed her ambition for the Super Falcons to become the best women’s football team in the world — a goal she said could only be achieved with sustained support from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the government.
However, when asked during the interview if the promised payments had been made, she replied:
“We have not received our money, but hopefully, it will be paid. They have not paid — all the promises, we have not received anything.”
Long History of Payment Disputes
The delay adds to a long-standing pattern of payment disputes involving Nigeria’s national football teams. Both the men’s and women’s squads have, over the years, clashed with authorities over unpaid bonuses and allowances.
In 1994, members of the Super Eagles who won the Africa Cup of Nations had to wait nearly 30 years before the government fulfilled its promise of providing them with new homes.
The Super Falcons have also staged sit-in protests at major tournaments — most recently after the 2023 Women’s World Cup — to press for overdue payments. Fans have consistently voiced concern over the disparity in earnings between the Super Falcons and their male counterparts, the Super Eagles, with growing calls for equal pay.
Just hours before the Falcons’ WAFCON final against Morocco, President Tinubu had reportedly approved match allowances, bonuses, and back payments for the squad, promising that prompt payment would become the standard going forward.
