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Former Super Eagles captain John Obi Mikel has revealed how he reached out to the office of then-President Muhammadu Buhari, via his Chief of Staff Abba Kyari, to ensure the payment of players’ bonuses for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia after months of delays by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
Mikel said the intervention resulted in millions of dollars in cash being delivered to the team’s hotel via a private jet just days into the tournament. He shared the details on his Obi One Podcast, released on Tuesday, where he also criticised the NFF for repeated failures in managing players’ welfare and bonus payments.
According to the former Chelsea midfielder, FIFA provides “parachute money” ahead of major tournaments, which federations often use—or borrow against—to pay players’ bonuses before being reimbursed.
“Talking about fighting for players’ bonuses, I went above the president of the NFF to get those bonuses, which is what I did a couple of times during the World Cup,” Mikel said.
“Leading up to the World Cup, we were owed money. We had been asking for this money for months before the tournament. They kept telling me, ‘Oh, Mikel, don’t worry, the money will be sorted when you come to camp.’ I said, ‘Okay, no problem, but make sure the money is there because the players are asking me about their bonuses, and I have to make sure these bonuses are there when we arrive.’
“We got to camp, and I spoke to the team secretary and the president. I asked, ‘Where is the money?’ Again, they said, ‘Don’t worry, Mikel, we’ll sort it out.’
“A week went by. The players kept coming to me saying, ‘Mikel, we need this money. Once the World Cup is over, we don’t know if we’ll ever get it.’”
