Nigeria prepared to boycott opening game of Women's World Cup: Reports
According to reports, Nigeria are looking to boycott the opening game of the Women's World Cup. That's because the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) have denied to pay its players their bonuses for the tournament.
Nigeria's coach Randy Waldrum could even be sacked before the start of the tournament. Waldrum had made comments on a podcast slamming NFF for their role.
Each player of the team is set to receive €30,000 for their participation in the group stage of the Women's World Cup. However, they were also set to receive a bonus payment for the participation in each game, which the NFF has denied to pay. Barcelona Femini's Asisat Oshola, who's the captain of Nigeria's women's team, is leading the strike of her team.
Speaking about NFF's denial to pay the bonus during the Women's World Cup, coach Waldrum had said (via Daily Mail):
"I know we are not prepared the way we need to be … I've been very frustrated with the federation and the lack of support. We were supposed to have a camp for 10 to 12 days in Nigeria before going to Australia for another 10 to 15 days, but the federation cancelled the home camp."
He added:
"We have less days than a College pre-season to prepare for the World Cup, and it blows my mind because we've known about this since last year."
Alessia Russo completed blockbuster move to Arsenal before Women's World Cup
Alessia Russo is one of the biggest stars who will be heading to the Women's World Cup. However, even before the start of the tournament, the English striker grabbed the headlines.
She completed a move from Manchester United to Arsenal on a free transfer. That comes after the Red Devils had turned down a world record offer for Russo in January. Speaking about her transfer, Russo said (via Just Arsenal):
“Yeah, it’s been really nice and coming in today has made me even more excited for it. Yeah, it’s really nice to kind of have your sights set now and know what’s coming up and get really focused obviously on the World Cup coming up. But then know that you’re coming back to Arsenal. Ready for a big year.”
Russo bagged ten goals and an assist in 20 games across competitions last season for the Red Devils. She's one of England's biggest hopes for getting a positive result in the Women's World Cup.