Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) chairperson, Aisha Falode has fired a stern warning at clubs that are faltering on financial terms and conditions to their players and the governing body, stating that they face outright expulsion if they fail to pay salaries promptly, megasportsarena.com reports.
Falode frowned at a situation in which NWFL clubs fail to pay salaries of their players as at when due, even as she hinted that a new date will soon be fixed for the league to kick-off, after their initial schedule for March 25 was scuttled by the global outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
The seasoned broadcaster and executive board member of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) issued the warning after players of former champions, Pelican Stars of Calabar staged a protest over ten months unpaid salaries by their club’s management.
The NWFL returnees took their protest to Cross River State Governor’s office and drew lots of sympathy from various stakeholders and concerned observers, including Association of Nigerian Women in Sports (NAWIS), which urged Governor Ben Ayade to rescue of the flagship side.
Although the NWFL boss admitted that the effects of COVID-19 have rendered many outfits financially unstable in recent months, she stressed that what is worth doing at all is worth doing well, hence her declaration that only clubs that pay their players will be allowed in the league.
Falode said in an interview with Super Eagles Supporters Club on Instagram: “Our girls do not need to demonstrate, they don’t need to carry placards before you pay them their wages. We just want the league to resume, we have sent them reminders to pay their players up to date.
“If it is only ten clubs that can pay, if it is eight, we are going to go ahead and play with those eight clubs. Before the Covid-19 break, we had written to the clubs, if you don’t show us your statement of salary payment to the players up to date, you run a risk of not playing in the league this season and we meant it.
“We are going to go back to that. If you do not pay these girls for one month, up to three months, who does that? And you expect the girls to play for you and give the impression that everything is fine at the club.
“There must be some kind of institutionalised policies at this time that you cannot owe players their salaries, how much more young girls. If you do that, you’re opening them up to some kind of vices that you cannot contemplate.”
