Help! Nigeria owes me two years salary – Falcon’s coach

The NFF spokesperson says some coaches were paid recently.

With a few months to the 2014 Africa Women Championship, the Head Coach of the Super Falcons of Nigeria, Okon Edwin, has said that the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has not paid him his salary in two years.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday in Abuja, the coach said since he came back from the 2012 under-20 World Cup, which he led the Falconets to, he has not received any salary.

“Since August 2012 when I led the Falconets to the World Cup where we came fourth, up till today, I’m yet to get a dine as salary from the NFF. Every time I go to the office to complain, they will say there is no money. At a time I learned that the Federal Government gave the federation some money to pay (Super Eagles’ coach Stephen Keshi) and other national team coaches, but up till today my story is still the same,” Mr. Okon lamented.

The spokesperson of the NFF, Ademola Olajire, told PREMIUM TIMES that some coaches were paid their wages recently and he was not aware that the federation owed Mr. Okon.

“Well, I really don’t know if we owe him but coaches were paid recently when we got some money. I don’t handle money really; the account department should know that but I can assure you that some coaches were paid,” he said.

Mr. Okon, in 2011, signed a four-year contract with the NFF to coach the Falconets but later moved to Super Falcons in 2012 after its former coach, Kadiri Ikhana, resigned.

Nigeria Super Falcons are drawn alongside hosts Namibia, Cote d’Ivoire and Zambia in Group A of African Women’s Championship, which kicks off on October 11.

The top three teams from the championship will qualify for the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.

The Nigeria ladies will also be looking to redeem themselves at the tournament after they finished fourth in last edition of the biennial tournament, their worst-ever finish in the history of the African Women Championship.