The Nigeria squad at the World Cup have missed a scheduled training session in a row over bonus money.
BBC Sport understands the players believe they are each $15,000 (£8,800) short of what they were expecting for reaching the last 16 in Brazil.
They refused to train in Campinas on Thursday and officials later confirmed the session had been cancelled.
Nigeria are scheduled to play France in the knockout stages on Monday having finished as runners-up in Group F.
BBC Sport has learned the problem lies in the interpretation of the bonus structure, with the players believing they will only receive $10,000 for their win 1-0 over Bosnia-Hercegovina and $5,000 for the 0-0 draw with Iran.
The players' understanding was they would receive a $30,000 payment for qualifying from the group.
However, it is believed the Nigerian Football Federation's offer to the players includes the agreed win and draw bonuses plus 30% of the prize money due from Fifa for reaching the knockout stage.
This is understood to rise to 40% of the prize money from Fifa if Nigeria were to win their round of 16 match, 50% for a quarter-final victory, 60% for a win in the semi-final stage and 70% for lifting the trophy.
While all parties work to find a resolution to the misunderstanding, coach Stephen Keshi has insisted it will not affect the team's performance.
And it has been confirmed to the BBC that the players will travel to Brasilia on Friday as scheduled and will train in the evening and over the weekend.
It is not the first time the Super Eagles have made a stance over money - last year they arrived late for the Confederations Cup in Brazil.
BBC
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Friday, June 27, 2014
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Nigerian government denies second mass kidnapping by Boko Haram
Nigeria's government on Wednesday denied claims that Boko Haram militants abducted 60 women and children from the country's restive northeast, saying there was no evidence despite eyewitness testimony.
Government spokesman Mike Omeri told a news conference in Abuja that there was "nothing on the ground to prove any act of abduction, as reported".
A local government official in the Damboa district of Borno, a vigilante leader and an area senator on Monday all said the women and girls, some as young as three, were taken during a raid on Kummabza village in the last week.
Nigeria's military initially did not confirm or deny the abduction and Borno governor Kashim Shettima on Monday ordered an urgent probe, highlighting a recent reported abduction of at least 20 nomadic women from the same area.
Shettima said he was cautious because of subsequent counter-claims that the women had in fact moved elsewhere in the state as part of migration patterns among ethnic Fulani cattle breeders.
Omeri claimed that Shettima had established "that there were no sufficient facts on the alleged abduction", adding: "We hereby wish to state that based on available facts before us there was no abduction of 60 persons in Borno state."
Residents from Kummabza and the surrounding villages attacked over three days from last Thursday, however, said they could not understand the denial.
"This is happening. I can't understand why they would say that. It has been confirmed," one man, who asked for his name to be withheld, told AFP.
Establishing facts on the ground is notoriously difficult in northeast Nigeria, which has been hard hit by five years of violence at the hands of the heavily armed militant group.
Mobile phone networks have been downed and there are few functioning landlines, while travel between towns and villages is fraught with the danger of attack. Often news of attacks takes days to emerge.
Independent corroboration of claims is also hard to come by, with the police and security services also unable to move freely because of dangerous conditions.
Nigeria's government was heavily criticised for its slow response to the mass abduction by Boko Haram militants of more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok, also in Borno, on April 14, that triggered global outrage.
The military claimed in the days after the kidnapping that most of the girls had escaped, while President Goodluck Jonathan's wife, Patience, alleged that the abduction was a fabrication by her husband's political rivals to smear him.
The military's claim was soon retracted.
Police in Borno said that 276 girls were kidnapped and that 53 escaped in the days following the attack. On May 28, the authorities said that four more girls than previously thought had escaped, leaving 219 still held hostage.
The figures were confirmed in a report submitted to the government by a presidential fact-finding committee this week.
AFP
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Video - Search continues for the 200 kidnapped schoolgirls
Government spokesman Mike Omeri told a news conference in Abuja that there was "nothing on the ground to prove any act of abduction, as reported".
A local government official in the Damboa district of Borno, a vigilante leader and an area senator on Monday all said the women and girls, some as young as three, were taken during a raid on Kummabza village in the last week.
Nigeria's military initially did not confirm or deny the abduction and Borno governor Kashim Shettima on Monday ordered an urgent probe, highlighting a recent reported abduction of at least 20 nomadic women from the same area.
Shettima said he was cautious because of subsequent counter-claims that the women had in fact moved elsewhere in the state as part of migration patterns among ethnic Fulani cattle breeders.
Omeri claimed that Shettima had established "that there were no sufficient facts on the alleged abduction", adding: "We hereby wish to state that based on available facts before us there was no abduction of 60 persons in Borno state."
Residents from Kummabza and the surrounding villages attacked over three days from last Thursday, however, said they could not understand the denial.
"This is happening. I can't understand why they would say that. It has been confirmed," one man, who asked for his name to be withheld, told AFP.
Establishing facts on the ground is notoriously difficult in northeast Nigeria, which has been hard hit by five years of violence at the hands of the heavily armed militant group.
Mobile phone networks have been downed and there are few functioning landlines, while travel between towns and villages is fraught with the danger of attack. Often news of attacks takes days to emerge.
Independent corroboration of claims is also hard to come by, with the police and security services also unable to move freely because of dangerous conditions.
Nigeria's government was heavily criticised for its slow response to the mass abduction by Boko Haram militants of more than 200 schoolgirls from the town of Chibok, also in Borno, on April 14, that triggered global outrage.
The military claimed in the days after the kidnapping that most of the girls had escaped, while President Goodluck Jonathan's wife, Patience, alleged that the abduction was a fabrication by her husband's political rivals to smear him.
The military's claim was soon retracted.
Police in Borno said that 276 girls were kidnapped and that 53 escaped in the days following the attack. On May 28, the authorities said that four more girls than previously thought had escaped, leaving 219 still held hostage.
The figures were confirmed in a report submitted to the government by a presidential fact-finding committee this week.
AFP
Related stories: Boko Haram kidnap 60 more girls and 31 boys
Video - Search continues for the 200 kidnapped schoolgirls
Nigerian coach Stephen Keshi says "Messi is from Jupiter" after Super Eagles 3-2 defeat by Argentina in 2014 FIFA World Cup
The 27-year-old scored a half-volley and a free-kick as Argentina recorded a third win to finish top of Group F."Messi is one of heck of a player. He's blessed. You can't take it away from him," said Keshi, whose Nigeria side still qualified despite the defeat.
"There are good calibre players in the team but Messi is from Jupiter."
Keshi, whose team advanced to the last 16 of the World Cup after Iran lost to Bosnia-Hercegovina, added: "I feel honoured and happy it's going our way, I want to thank the players and the fans and some of the media."
Messi is now joint top scorer at the 2014 tournament with four goals, alongside Brazil's Neymar. Prior to Brazil 2014, he had scored just once in eight World Cup matches.
The Barcelona star paid tribute to Nigeria, who equalised twice through Ahmed Musa before Marcos Roja scored a second-half winner for the two-time champions.
"We played against a team that wanted to play," Messi said. "I think we saw a good Argentina. We need to continue on this path."
Messi had previously only scored one World Cup goal in 571 minutes, but former England striker Gary Lineker believes he is now comparable to Argentine compatriot Diego Maradona.
Maradona inspired Argentina to their 1986 World Cup triumph, scoring twice to eliminate Lineker and his England team-mates in the quarter-finals.
"I don't think since Maradona we've seen anyone quite like Messi on the field," said the Match of the Day presenter.
"They're very similar players in many ways: both have that mercurial left foot, balance, precision, the ability to beat players very easily and make the game look simple.
"And he scores goals as well. Diego was an unbelievable player, certainly the best of my generation, and he was unbelievably creative, he could do all those sort of things, but he wasn't as prolific as Messi is, he didn't score quite as many goals."
The South American side will now play Switzerland in the last 16, while Nigeria will face France.
"As we advance we start improving our structure, in general I saw improvement today," said Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella.
"We've got nine points, but we can always get better."
BBC
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Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Video - Bomb blast in the capital Abuja, Nigeria - At least 21 confirmed dead
An explosion has struck a busy shopping district in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, killing at least 21 people.
The explosion was in the capital's Wuse district, near the popular Banex plaza shopping complex, and could be heard from miles away.
It is not yet clear what was behind the explosion, however police say they are securing a "crime scene".
Islamist militant group Boko Haram has bombed targets across northern Nigeria in recent years.
"After a preliminary investigation we can confirm that 21 people were killed and 17 injured," police spokesman Frank Mba told reporters.
'Covered in blood'
Chiamaka Oham, who was near the site of the blast, told the BBC: "We heard a really loud noise and the building shook, and people started screaming and running out.
"We saw the smoke and people covered in blood. It was just chaos."
Eyewitnesses at the scene described seeing body parts scattered across the area.
The area was packed with shoppers at the time of the blast, the BBC's Hausa service editor Mansur Liman reports.
Many cars outside the shopping complex were burnt out and many windows were shattered, he adds.
One man told the BBC his driver was killed in the blast: "I was in the complex when I saw that the ground was shaking. I saw my driver dead and a lot of casualties."
Manzo Ezekiel, spokesman for the National Emergency Management Agency, told AFP news agency: "You can see smoke billowing from the sky. It's a very crowded place."
Police spokesman Frank Mba said he could not provide details of the nature or extent of the damage.
"Our most important assignment now is to secure lives, secure the crime scene and actually carry out preliminary investigations," he added.
Boko Haram has staged previous attacks in Abuja, but most of its targets have been in the north-east of the country.
In April, more than 70 people were killed in a bomb blast at a bus stop on the outskirts of the capital in an attack claimed by Boko Haram.
The group also said it was behind a car bomb attack near a bus station in the suburbs in May, which killed at least 19 people and injured 60 others.
The group also carried out a deadly car bomb attack on the United Nations building in the Nigerian capital in 2011.
It has become a source of growing international concern since the recent abduction of more than 200 girls from a school in northern Nigeria.
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Nigeria progresses to 2nd stage of the FIFA 2014 World Cup
The World Cup Group F final between Argentina and Nigeria finishes with Argentina winning 3-2. The duel between the much-storied Lionel Messi and the relatively little-ballyhooed Vincent Enyeama created an immensely captivating match.
The World Cup exploits of Messi, FC Barcelona’s wunderkind, have been much publicized. His second-half goals in both of Argentina’s previous wins have been praised widely, especially his injury-time strike to beat Iran 1-0 on Saturday.
But with Nigeria scoring one goal in its two previous matches, Enyeama likewise has been carrying the Super Eagles, the only team yet to concede a goal at the World Cup.
The 31-year-old goalkeeper, who plays for Lille in France, reportedly is drawing interest from Arsenal and Sunderland.
Neither Messi nor Argentina needs to duel with Nigeria. They’ve already clinched their place in the last 16 with six points, and need merely a draw to finish atop the group. That would get Argentina a second-round match against the runner-up from Group E, the France-Ecuador-Switzerland-Honduras group.
Nigeria, however, is in a precarious situation. With four points, it sits three ahead of Iran, which plays pointless and eliminated Bosnia-Herzegovina in a simultaneous match.
A draw would get it through without having to worry about the Bosnia-Iran result. But a Nigeria loss and an Iran win could send the “Princes of Persia” through. It will all depend on goal difference, or possibly goals scored. Nigeria has a plus-1 goal difference, Iran a minus-1.
Nigeria has scored once, Iran not at all. A 1-0 victory by Iran and a 1-0 loss by Nigeria would leave them equal – and require the drawing of lots. (The only other tie-breaking criteria after goals scored have to do with head-to-head, and Iran and Nigeria drew 0-0.)
A 2-1 win by Iran combined with a 1-0 loss by Nigeria would send the Iranians through. But a 1-0 win by Iran joined with a 2-1 loss by Nigeria favors the Africans. Of course, Iran has won only one game in 11 tries at the World Cup, in 1998 against the United States.
And for a really interesting scenario, consider this: If Iran prevails and finishes second in Group F, and the United States beats Germany to win Group G, the teams would be one step away (i.e. the quarterfinals) from a rematch of “The Mother of all Games.”
Wall Street Journal
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