Nigeria’s preparations for Thursday’s 2026 World Cup playoff against Gabon suffered a major setback on Tuesday as the Super Eagles players and officials boycotted training in Rabat, Morocco, over unpaid allowances and bonuses.
A BBC report on Thursday confirmed that the entire squad, including backroom staff, refused to train on Tuesday due to long-standing financial grievances with the Nigeria Football Federation.
In a brief statement reported to have been jointly shared by players and officials, the team confirmed the development. Their joint statement reads:
“The full squad including officials withheld from training today in Morocco because of the unresolved issues with outstanding payments. The Super Eagles are awaiting a quick resolution to continue preparations for Thursday’s game with Gabon.”
The development comes barely 48 hours two days before they face Gabon in the first semi-final of the World Cup Africa Playoff Tournament in Rabat.
The payment dispute has clearly cast a huge shadow over the team’s build-up.
The Nigeria Football Federation has yet to issue a formal statement on the matter as of the time of this report but officials confirmed that discussions were on to ensure that training holds well on Wednesday.
By late Tuesday evening the Super Eagles had 23 players in camp with goalkeeper Maduka Okoye the only player still expected to arrive.
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