Sports Bonuses: Super Eagles players should be patient - Victor Ikpeba

[Chris Maduewesi]

Former Nigerian international Victor Ikpeba has advised the Super Eagles team to be patient as their match bonuses will eventually be paid to them.

The Nigeria players refused to train on Thursday,demanding that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) pay them their appearance fee and also their bonuses for qualifying for the second round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

It took the intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan who assured the players that they will be paid their bonuses for them to rescind their decision.

Super Eagles skipper Joseph Yobo was said to have admonished his teammates that the NFF usually pays appearance fees months after the World Cup,advising them to have patience with the federation.

But it didn't go down well with the players who felt Yobo was acting on the instance of the NFF.

Ikpeba who made two World Cup appearances for Nigeria,said that from his experiences,the norm has always been to get their money months after the World Cup.

"I’ve played in two World Cup finals and on both occasions, we were paid our appearance fee by the NFF about 3-4 months after the World Cup. So I am surprised by the demand of the players. I hope this is not a ploy by the players to tell us that they intend to lose their game against France on Monday”,Ikpeba was quoted as saying on Vanguard Sports.