Nigeria skipper Joseph Yobo has again come out in defence of the country’s team to the World Cup by insisting they did not hold the nation to ransom with their demand for appearance fee at Brazil 2014.
“No one held Nigeria to ransom. We are ready to play for Nigeria even if we don’t get paid for that,” Yobo told AfricanFootball.com in Brazil.
Nigeria skipper, Joseph Yobo
“Look at the players who are playing in Nigeria, this money is a life changer for them. This will change their family, they will be happy because they worked hard to get here.
“This (money) won’t change my life, but as the captain of the team I know what the players deserve.
“Most countries have appearance fee and this was what we spoke about.
“It (meeting with NFF on appearance fee) was peaceful and quiet, there was no problem, but at the end of the day it came out differently in the media.”
The Fenerbache defender, who is at his third World Cup, argued that the issue of an appearance fee for the players should not have been thrashed at the last minute.
“They should have addressed this much earlier than when it was almost game time. Why did we wait till the last minute? He asked.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have agreed to pay the squad 30% of the cash they will receive from FIFA for participation in the first round of the 2014 World Cup.
The players will receive more cash should they go past the group stage of Brazil 2014.
