Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025 campaign was significantly disrupted by a serious bonus payment dispute, with the Super Eagles reportedly threatening to boycott their crucial quarter-final match against Algeria. This potential crisis emerged despite Nigeria maintaining an impressive 100 percent win record at the ongoing tournament in Morocco.

Sources from within the team camp in Fes indicated that players were refusing to train and had declared they would not travel to Marrakech for the Saturday fixture unless outstanding winning bonuses were paid immediately. The core of the dispute centered on unpaid bonuses from four decisive victories: against Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, and Mozambique. Each player was reportedly owed a substantial sum of $42,500 for reaching the quarter-finals, which included $30,000 for their group stage performance and an additional $12,500 for their Round of 16 triumph over Mozambique.

Further financial incentives were also on the table for the team, with $15,000 per player promised for a quarter-final victory, $17,500 for a semi-final win, and a final $20,000 for ultimately lifting the coveted AFCON trophy. This incident was not an isolated event, as similar bonus disputes have historically plagued Nigerian football, with a past protest over World Cup qualifying bonuses reportedly contributing to the team's failure to secure a World Cup ticket against DR Congo.

As the Super Eagles were scheduled to travel to Marrakech on Thursday, urgent intervention became imperative to avert a potential crisis that could derail Nigeria's AFCON aspirations. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) quickly announced that payments for the Super Eagles' outstanding allowances were being processed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and would soon be disbursed to the players and officials. Nigerian journalist Oluwashina Okeleji had initially reported the players' stance, confirming their refusal to train or travel if the issue remained unresolved.

A critical turning point came with the intervention of Nigeria's Ministry of Finance. Hon. Dr. Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite, the Minister of State for Finance, delivered a crucial update, promising a swift resolution to the bonus dispute. The Ministry assured that the CBN had implemented emergency measures to bypass bureaucratic delays and process payments directly into the players' domiciliary accounts. The Minister confirmed that all group-stage bonuses had been fully released, cleared necessary regulatory stages, and the final transfers to individual bank accounts were