Nigeria’s Super Falcons have received the naira equivalent of the $100,000 reward President Bola Tinubu promised each player after their continental triumph in Morocco, more than a year after the team won the final.
The National Sports Commission announced the payments on Monday, confirming that the government had transferred the players’ bonuses directly into their accounts. Coaches and other officials received the naira equivalent of $50,000 each, according to Arise News.
Prime 9ja Online reports that each player received approximately ₦140 million, according to the commission’s statement. The payment fulfils the financial commitment Tinubu made following Nigeria’s victory at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Although the competition retained its official designation as the 2024 WAFCON, organisers staged it in July 2025 after a postponement. Nigeria secured their 10th title by recovering from a two-goal deficit to beat hosts Morocco 3–2 in the final in Rabat.
Tinubu announced the reward package at a reception for the squad on 28 July 2025, two days after the final. Alongside the cash bonuses, he promised three-bedroom apartments and conferred the national honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger on members of the team.
The commission said the government had fulfilled the housing component earlier, at the beginning of the 2026 WAFCON in July. The latest transfers settle the outstanding cash rewards from the earlier championship campaign.
Team captain Rasheedat Ajibade thanked the President for honouring the commitment, describing the payment as recognition of the squad’s achievement, according to the ARISE News sports broadcast.
Nigeria’s younger athletes, meanwhile, continued their campaigns at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, where Pamela Bawa and Joy Lawrence advanced to the women’s beach volleyball quarter-finals.
The pair defeated Thailand in straight sets on Monday, winning 21–16, 21–13 to secure a meeting with the Netherlands’ Jara Both and Matilda de Groot. Their progression kept Nigeria in contention as the competition moved into its final knockout rounds, ACLSports reported.
In the swimming pool, 16-year-old Kashope Obatoyinbo completed the men’s 100 metres freestyle in 53.81 seconds. He finished fourth in his heat and 29th overall among 73 competitors.
Tobiloba Omolola Akinsanmi also contested the freestyle heats, placing fifth in her women’s 100 metres race in one minute, 3.33 seconds. Africa Aquatics’ results report confirmed both swimmers’ times and Obatoyinbo’s overall position.
Nigeria’s programme also includes Aidan Dumuje-Abili in the men’s 100 metres backstroke. Obatoyinbo is scheduled to return for the men’s 50 metres freestyle on Wednesday.
European club football provides another focus on Tuesday, with Aston Villa visiting Barcelona after winning their opening three Champions League fixtures.
Villa’s nine points give them an unbeaten start to the league phase. Barcelona approach the encounter after losing 4–2 away to Paris Saint-Germain in their previous European match, according to UEFA’s competition schedule and results.
At Old Trafford, Manchester United host Roma as Michael Carrick seeks to end a nine-match run without a victory across all competitions.
Carrick dismissed questions about his longer-term position before the match, saying his attention remained on preparing the team for Roma’s visit. United’s sequence without a win has increased scrutiny of the head coach as the club attempts to recover its form.
Atlético Madrid welcome Bayern Munich in another of Tuesday’s fixtures, while Paris Saint-Germain travel to Villarreal.
Elsewhere, Galatasaray face Stuttgart, Shakhtar Donetsk meet Sporting CP, Feyenoord host Inter, Bodø/Glimt take on Lille and LASK play Slovan Bratislava.
Away from the fixtures, FIFPRO has announced the finalists for its 2026 men’s and women’s World 11 awards, with 26 players competing for places in each team.
The men’s forward nominees include Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lamine Yamal. Jude Bellingham features among the midfield finalists.
Ousmane Dembélé, Raphinha and João Neves do not appear on the published list. FIFPRO’s women’s finalists include Aitana Bonmatí, Alexia Putellas, Barbra Banda, Alessia Russo and Ewa Pajor.
The organisation said 26,317 professional footballers from 75 countries participated in the voting. It will announce the two selected teams on 9 November, according to its official finalists announcement.
Messi also added to his career tally during Inter Miami’s 2–1 victory over New England Revolution on Sunday.
The Argentine contributed a goal and an assist, taking his totals to 937 goals and 428 assists, according to figures reported by The PUNCH, which cited football journalist Fabrizio Romano. That goal count leaves Messi 63 short of 1,000.
Mbappé, meanwhile, continues to face commercial consequences in China following controversy over his comments about a meme depicting him as Mao Zedong. Reuters reported that Chinese brands ended partnerships with the France forward and that state broadcaster CCTV suspended La Liga coverage.
CCTV did not show Real Madrid’s match against Racing Santander on Sunday despite apologies from Mbappé, the club and La Liga.
In Formula 1, George Russell has acknowledged the difficulties of his season after Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli secured the drivers’ championship at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Antonelli finished third behind race winner Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton on Sunday, collecting enough points to become the sport’s youngest world champion at 20.
Russell finished sixth in Mexico and sits fourth in the drivers’ standings. He has won three races this season, compared with Antonelli’s nine, as the Italian clinched the championship with four rounds remaining.
Reflecting on the campaign in a social media post, Russell described a combination of misfortune and below-par performances that had undermined his title challenge. He said he had experienced more difficult days than successful ones for the first time in his career.
“All I know is that I’ve given it my all and 2026 was not meant to be my year,” he wrote.
Russell congratulated Antonelli and said he would continue working to recover his performance through the remaining races and into next season, according to Formula 1’s report.