Pay us N196m or face FIFA wrath, ex-players tell Kwara

A group of former players and officials of Kwara United has issued a seven-day ultimatum to the management of the club to pay their outstanding N196m, which they claim is their collective sign-on fees owed from the 2014/2015 season.

The ultimatum was communicated to the club management by the group’s legal counsel, Exact Legal Associates, via a letter dated July 11, 2024 and titled ‘Demand for outstanding sign-on fees payment of erstwhile players and officials from 2014/15 till date.’

Counsel to the group, Y.Y Ajibade, stated that they had exhausted all avenues to get the club management to pay the outstanding emoluments of the group.

He decried the response of the club management, who he said paid a ‘paltry N5m’, which represented 2.4 per cent of the outstanding sum of N196m.

The letter stated that this had put members of the aggrieved group in dire financial situations, with many of them unable to meet their financial obligations after rendering their services to the club.

The counsel, on behalf of the group, thus issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Kwara United management to pay the outstanding sum to a Jaiz Bank account, threatening to take the matter to the Nigeria Football Federation and world body FIFA to seek redress.

Meanwhile, two members of the aggrieved group, who were team captains at different times, Onigbari Akeem and Sherif Jimoh, appealed to the state governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, to intervene and resolve the issue.

On its part, the management of Kwara United said it was aware of the unpaid entitlements of the ex-players of the club, saying the chairman, Kunbi Titiloye, had taken up the matter with relevant stakeholders.

The club chairman in a statement signed by Ayodeji Ismail, Media Officer of Kwara United, on Tuesday stated, “Club management is a continuum and we are looking towards solving the problem.”

He appealed to Governor AbdulRazaq to assist in settling the debts.

“We are aware of your (ex-players) unfortunate situation and we believe our sports-loving and workaholic Governor, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, will sort the issues very soon.”