Nigeria Leagues
“We are starving” – Delta Queens players cry out over four months unpaid salary
By Saheed Afolabi
In a distressing turn of events, players and management of Delta Queens, a prominent Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) Premiership team, find themselves in dire straits as they endure four months without receiving their salaries from the Delta State government.
This grim reality has plunged the players into a state of desperation, compelling them to compete on the field with empty stomachs, wreaking havoc on their bodies and jeopardizing their health.
A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, lamented the plight of the Delta Queens players, highlighting their relentless pursuit of support amidst diminishing dignity for the club.
“The situation here is dire. These players endure untold hardship, traversing our perilous roads to represent our state, only to be left unpaid for four months. How can we expect them to remain silent?”
The source urged the government to intervene and honor the players’ entitlements, emphasizing the necessity for their salaries to sustain their families, as many of them are breadwinners.
Several players, speaking anonymously, revealed the harsh realities they face while playing for the club amidst unpaid salaries, expressing the toll it takes as they struggle with starvation.
“It’s heartbreaking. We give our all on the field, but off the field, we’re barely surviving. Playing hungry affects our performance and our health,” one player confessed.
Another player echoed the sentiment, stating, “We’re not just athletes; we’re human beings with families to support. Four months without pay is unacceptable. We need our salaries to live.”
This recurring issue of unpaid salaries has plagued Delta Queens for years, with last year’s debacle during the WAFU-B Champions League Zonal qualifiers in Edo serving as a poignant example.
During international duty, players were owed two months’ salaries and bonuses, culminating in a detrimental impact on their performance and their inability to secure qualification for the CAF Champions League in Ivory Coast.
Ajobiewe Asikogu Taiwo
at 10:44 pm
In the history of the club , it had never happened, am so surprised that it is happening now, as one of the pioneers of Delta Queens football club, we were employed under the state ministry of youth and sports, so as the workers were receiving their salaries, we were receiving ours too, I know governments policies are different but that doesn’t mean that the government does not have money to pay the players,these players take care of themselves with the salaries and also send money to their families, Delta state government should please pay them their salaries, there is no way they will perform better on empty stomachs and also this can make players to be sleeping with men to get money to eat, which is not good. Delta state government please do something before is too late. Who knows, may be that is why they couldn’t qualify for Super six .