The Trade Union Congress (TUC) has begun mobilisation towards the picketing of some Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL), Nigeria National League (NNL), and Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) clubs over non-payment of salaries of footballers and coaches of the clubs following the expiration of April 25, 2016 ultimatum given the league management and club owners to comply with the decisions of the Players Status and Arbitration Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation reached on 18th, 19th and 20th December, 2009, 10th, 11th and 12th May, 2010 and 18th September, 2015.
A statement by TUC signed by Bobboi Bala Kaigama, its president and Simeso Amachree, the acting secretary general, the congress referred to a directive by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to the NPFL, NNL, and NWFL communicated via a letter dated January 14, 2016 instructing them not to register any indebted club for the 2015/2016 league season until the indebtedness of each affected club to players and coaches are liquidated.
The congress expressed displeasure at the clubs’ failure to comply with the decision of the Players’ Status and Arbitration Committee in spite of the directive. According to TUC, the registration of clubs to feature in the 2015/2016 league season is indicative of lack of capacity on the part of the NFF, NPFL, NNL and NWFL to enforce the arbitration decisions, noting that the affected players, coaches and their families have been subjected to unimaginable hardship in consequence of the non-compliance.
It said in view of the fore-going, it has mandated its state councils to henceforth ensure full compliance with the directives of the arbitration committee by picketing match venues of all the debtor clubs in their respective states. The labour leaders disclosed that this position is being taken as a last resort since letters and appeals to the clubs and the League Management Company (LMC) on the debts have yielded no positive result. “Indeed we would have commenced the picketing already but for the pleas of the LMC to the National Association of Nigerian Professional Footballers (NANPF) promising to resolve the matter. We must say that we are very disappointed, and it is about time we show them how serious we are,” they said.
“We find it equally reprehensible that less than 5 percent of players in the domestic leagues have contracts with their clubs, a situation which the players have decried and fought against for years. From all indications it is evident that the affected players and coaches are being used as modern-day slaves, and we are not going to allow that to continue,” the TUC said.
