Super Eagles players and coaches have refused to travel to Marrakech due to unpaid bonuses. This was revealed by BBC Africa journalist, Oluwashina Okeleji, who is in Morocco. Nigeria are billed to take on Algeria in the quarter-final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday evening. But it is understood they have not paid their bonuses for the four matches they have played. Eric Chelle’s men beat Tanzania, Tunisia and Uganda in the group fixtures, before they thrashed Mozambique 4-0 in the Round of 16. They have taken the decision not to travel or train anymore until the bonuses issue is resolved.

The Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL, has advocated a ₦1 million minimum monthly salary for players . The league body stated that the move is part of broader reforms aimed at professionalising the league. The NPFL chairman, Hon Gbenga Elegbeleye, stated this on Saturday in Abuja. Elegbeleye said his long-term goal is to transform the NPFL into a more competitive, credible, and commercially viable league. He noted that improved remuneration would significantly enhance players’ welfare and quality of life, while also reducing the growing trend of Nigerian footballers leaving the country for lower-tier foreign leagues in search of better financial rewards. “Better pay will not only improve player welfare but also strengthen the credibility, competitiveness, and marketability of the NPFL,” Elegbeleye told NPF media.

South African based goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali, has revealed why he was pained despite Nigeria’s 3-2 win over Tunisia on Saturday. The goalkeeper said that conceding two goals against the North Africans was not what he wished for, but something he could not control. Nigeria was outstanding in the first period of the game, scoring late to go into the break 1-0. After Osimhen’s first half goal, Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman scored in the second half to make it 3-0 for the Super Eagles only for Tunisia to fire two late goals to make it 3-2. He told journalists after the game, “First game, second game…, we really don’t wish to concede. We really wish to keep a clean sheet. It pains me a lot when I concede but we keep going as a team.” The goalkeeper has now conceded three goals in two games at the tournament going on in Morocco. Nwabali said he would not want to let in another goal in the competition and if this happens, it would Brighten his chances of completing for the best goalkeeper of the tournament.

Two-time heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua has hailed YouTuber-turned boxer, Jake Paul, for his performance during their Miami fight on Friday. Recall that Paul started the fight in survival mode, keeping well out of Joshua’s way. The 28-year-old also refused to engage before the Briton finally closed the distance and inflicted some pain on him. The American suffered a fractured jaw while enduring six rounds against Joshua, who acknowledged that he wasn’t at his best during the fight. “It wasn’t the best performance,”Joshua admitted after the fight (via Metro UK). “The end goal was to get Jake Paul, pin him down and hurt him. That has been the request leading up. That was on my mind. “It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand finally found the destination. Jake Paul – he’s done really well tonight. I want to give him his props. He got up time and time again. It takes a real man to do that.”

Chelsea legend John Terry has revealed that he struggled deeply with his mental health after missing a crucial penalty in the 2008 UEFA Champions League final. The former England defender slipped while taking what could have been the decisive spot-kick against Manchester United, striking the post as Chelsea went on to lose the shootout at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium. Now 45, Terry has admitted that the aftermath of the defeat was one of the darkest periods of his life, revealing that he had suicidal thoughts while alone in the team’s hotel following the game, before teammates intervened and supported him. Speaking on Reece Mennie’s podcast, Terry said he wished he had spoken to someone at the time. He recalled returning to the hotel after the final and standing alone, overwhelmed by emotion and disbelief over what had happened. “I remember after the game we all went back to the hotel. I was on the 25th floor in Moscow, just looking out the window and asking myself, ‘Why? Why?’” he said. “I’m not saying I would have jumped, but those thoughts do go through your head at moments like that.” Terry explained that teammates eventually came to check on him and took him away from the room, an intervention he now recognises as vital. “It’s those ‘what if?’ moments,” he added. “You just never know.” The emotional toll lingered long after the final. Terry described how difficult it was to join up with the England squad just days later, particularly having to sit across from Manchester United players following the defeat. He also recalled scoring for England against the United States shortly afterwards, a moment that brought mixed emotions. “I remember thinking, ‘Why couldn’t I just swap that goal for that penalty?’” he said. Although the pain has eased with time, Terry admitted it has never fully disappeared. He explained that during his playing career he was able to push the memory aside by focusing on the next match, but retirement has brought those emotions back to the surface. “Now I’m retired and don’t have that weekly focus or the buzz of playing in front of supporters, it hits me more,” he said. “I still wake up in the middle of the night and remember it happened. I don’t think it will ever completely go away.” Four years later, Terry finally achieved Champions League redemption when Chelsea defeated Bayern Munich on penalties in the 2012 final. Although suspended for the match after his red card against Barcelona in the semi-finals, he was part of the squad that lifted the club’s first European Cup, bringing a measure of closure to a painful chapter in his career.