Nigerian icon Ideye reveals Super Eagles legend Kanu Nwankwo's Enyimba paid players N7,000 a day for meals

Former Super Eagles striker and 2013 AFCON winner Brown Ideye has opened up about the shocking meal allowances players received at Enyimba during his time at the club last season under the leadership of Nigerian football legend Kanu Nwankwo.

The 36-year-old forward recently signed with Enyimba until the end of the 2024/25 season, marking a homecoming after spending the last several years playing abroad, most recently at Kuwaiti side Al Yarmouk. 

Ideye’s return to Nigeria came 17 years after he left Ocean Boys, a move intended to bolster the People’s Elephant with his vast international experience.

This contract followed Ideye’s near-signing with Rivers United in October 2024, which ultimately fell through.

Now after leaving Enyimba, Ideye speaks openly about the realities on the ground, revealing a less glamorous side of Nigerian club football even at the elite level.

In a conversation shared on X, Ideye, who returned to Nigerian football after a remarkable 17-year career abroad, disclosed that Enyimba provided players with just N7,000 to N8,000 per matchday for feeding. 

“Look, I will say no,” Ideye answered when asked if the players were well taken care of at the Aba-based club. 

“At Enyimba, we’re receiving N7,000 a day, sometimes 8,000. Let’s say we have a game today; the money will be transferred to the captain to share it - seven or eight thousand naira.” 

“The money is not even stable, some days it’s 7,000, some days it’s eight. It’s not breakfast or lunch or dinner, just a day. That’s what they are paying.”

Ideye’s comments shed light on the financial challenges players face even at one of Nigeria’s biggest football institutions, despite the club being led by Kanu Nwankwo, widely regarded as one of the country’s greatest football legends.

His honesty paints a clear picture of` the need for improved welfare and financial support for players in the NPFL to maintain professionalism and attract top talent within the domestic league.