Ndidi pledges to cover super eagles’ bonuses as FG moves to resolve payments

Super Eagles captain Wilfred Ndidi has pledged to personally settle outstanding match bonuses for players and officials at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations if the Federal Government fails to release the funds before Nigeria’s quarter-final clash with Algeria on Saturday, Sport360NG reports.

Ndidi made the commitment amid concerns that unpaid bonuses could disrupt preparations ahead of the knockout tie in Marrakech. He was quoted by Oluwashina Okeleji as saying he had reassured teammates and staff that the issue would not be allowed to affect focus or performance.

“I’ve been pushing the team to train and prepare properly for the game against Algeria,” Ndidi said. “I’ve now made a commitment to the players and staff that I’ll personally pay the bonuses if the authorities fail to do so before Saturday. I don’t want unpaid bonuses to affect our preparations.”

Reports earlier this week suggested that tensions had risen within the Super Eagles camp, with claims that players and officials considered boycotting training and travel over unpaid entitlements from the group stage and round-of-16 fixtures.

In response, Minister of State for Finance Doris Uzoka-Anite said administrative steps were being expedited to ensure prompt payment. She confirmed that group-stage funds had already been released and cleared regulatory processes, while measures had been introduced to prevent similar delays going forward.

“The Federal Government and the Central Bank of Nigeria have successfully streamlined the foreign exchange processing to ensure our players are rewarded without further delay,” she said in a post on X. “All group-stage bonuses were fully released and have now cleared the necessary regulatory stages.”

Uzoka-Anite added that a fast-track conversion process had been implemented to transfer funds in players’ preferred currencies, with payments expected to reflect in domiciliary accounts between Thursday and Friday.

Nigeria arrived in Marrakech on Thursday and held a training session ahead of Saturday’s quarter-final against Algeria, as they continue their pursuit of a fourth continental crown following previous triumphs in 1980, 1994 and 2013.