Confed Cup: CAN EAGLES FLY AFTER BONUS CRISIS?

Bonus crisis between players and officials of the Super Eagles may dampen the team’s chances of soaring high at the FIFA Confederations Cup, which began on Saturday, writes ‘TANA AIYEJINA

 After a pay row over bonus payments in Windhoek, Namibia, on Thursday altered the Super Eagles travelling plans for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil, the team will now  have to surmount jetlag and a supremacy battle between the Nigerian Football Federation and coach Stephen Keshi as they aim to represent the African continent creditably well at the eight-team competition.

Officials of the Nigerian Football Federation had cut the players’ bonuses in half from $10,000 to $5,000 as part of a cost-cutting measure but the players rejected the new terms and embarked on a strike.

The Eagles were supposed to leave Windhoek, the Namibian capital — a day after Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with hosts Namibia in a 2014 World Cup qualifier — for Johannesburg to connect with a flight to Brazil, for the two-week tournament.

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