TUC decries club owners’ attitude to footballers’ welfare

The Trade Union Congress has decried the attitude of state governments and private club owners in Nigeria toward paying footballers’ entitlements.
It, therefore, warned that it would no longer tolerate the situation where professional footballers were owed salaries and allowances, beginning from the 2015/2016 league season.
The President the Congress, Bobboi Kaigama, gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Abuja.
Kaigama said: “Even state workers have such challenges.
“So, we take them together and ensure that they are treated as one since they (footballers) have become a trade union now.
“So, we will not tolerate that from all the employers of our professional footballers in this country.
“They should know that Nigerian footballers deserve a fair treatment and fair pay.
“This is like a profession and we want to encourage them to grow through the ranks.
“At least, it will go a long way (towards) giving professional footballers in this country their own dignity of labour.”
Kaigama explained that the registration of the Association of Professional Footballers of Nigeria with the TUC has necessitated the warning following the magnitude of debt the clubs are owing their players.
Kaigama expressed conviction that the relationship between the TUC and APFON would now help the growth and development of Nigerian football, especially the Nigeria Professional Football League.
The TUC president commended the efforts of APFON’s leadership for championing the cause of home-based professional footballers.
According to Kaigama, the various football leagues in the country will be repositioned under the current dispensation.
NAN reports that APFON registered with the TUC in the last quarter of 2015 as a trade union organisation.
They now have the right to go on strike to press home their demands as legitimate workers in the country, including seeking better conditions of service, improved pay and other entitlements.
NAN.