NPFL referees await unpaid fees after Nigeria football shake-up

Match officials in the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) are seeking urgent clarification over unpaid match indemnities and other welfare issues after the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) removed the league’s board as part of its ongoing administrative reforms.

Several referees say they are still owed allowances from the 2025/26 NPFL season, including payments for league fixtures and President Federation Cup matches. Their concerns had already been raised before the start of the new campaign, but the change in leadership has created uncertainty over which authority is now responsible for meeting the outstanding obligations.

The officials are also waiting for answers on other welfare matters previously discussed with league administrators.

This is the second time in 2026 that Nigerian match officials have publicly raised concerns about unpaid indemnities. In January, referees, match commissioners and referee assessors were reported to be owed allowances covering approximately 11 matchdays. Some of those payments were later made, although officials continue to dispute whether all outstanding sums have been settled.

Basic matchday payments for referees are understood to range from N60,000 to N90,000. Those figures do not include allowances for accommodation or transport.

Some officials also allege that they were told to pay N50,000 towards uniforms before the 2026/27 season, with the reported deadline falling at the end of August.

The referees have further accused the league’s Referees Committee of treating officials unfairly when deciding who would be selected or retained. They claim experienced referees were removed despite being below the stipulated age limit and having passed the required fitness tests.

“So the victimisation continued in the NRA? As Nigeria league is starting, they asked all referees to pay N50,000 each for a uniform, with a deadline of the end of August.

“And these referees were not paid for last season’s matches,” the officials said in a statement obtained by The PUNCH.

They also questioned why referees who had spent many years in the NPFL were being removed from the competition.

“How will the ref committee remove a referee from the NPFL for being in the league for long, even when he hasn’t reached 45 years? Isn’t that wickedness?

“So long as the ref can run and pass fitness, why remove him by force on the grounds of the number of years spent in the league? Is it a crime to stay long, remain fit, and do well in the Nigerian league as a referee?

“Why are we so wicked to our system? Many referees cannot write, yet you allow them and remove those who have been consistent for years through discipline and hard work. Is this how to reward hard work in the Nigerian league as a referee?”

Checks by a Punch correspondent indicated that some officials were still waiting for payments dating back to Matchday 26 of the 2025/26 season.

Kelechi Mejuobi, the acting president of the Nigeria Referees Association, declined to comment on the alleged arrears and referred questions to the league organisers.

“NRA cannot talk until you hear from the NPFL. They are the league organisers,” Mejuobi told The PUNCH.

The NPFL has previously said that referees’ outstanding indemnities had been paid. However, some match officials have repeatedly rejected that position, maintaining that payments for certain fixtures remain outstanding.

The latest changes within Nigerian football have therefore left referees uncertain not only about when they will receive the money, but also about which body now has the authority to resolve the dispute.

The issue has emerged as the NPFL begins the 2026/27 campaign under a new three-year title sponsorship agreement with Poland-based investment group EuroMatch. The deal, announced before the start of the season, is reportedly worth $7.5m over three years, or $2.5m per year.

Under the reported terms, 60% of the annual sponsorship income, equivalent to about $1.5m, is intended to be shared among the league’s 20 participating clubs.

With additional commercial income now entering the competition and Nigerian football undergoing wider administrative reform, match officials are awaiting a clear explanation from the interim authorities and the NPFL’s new administrative structure over the settlement of their unpaid indemnities and other welfare-related claims.