Brown Ideye Slams Enyimba Over “Shameful” Player Welfare, Unstable Bonuses

Veteran Nigerian striker Brown Ideye has taken aim at Nigerian Premier Football League giants, Enyimba FC, accusing the club of poor player welfare and unstable bonus structures that he describes as “deeply disappointing” and “unbelievable.”

Speaking on the Bet9ja Home Turf podcast, Brown Ideye did not hold back as he shed light on the reality players face at one of Nigeria’s most successful football clubs.

Ideye, 36, who joined Enyimba in December 2024 in a high-profile homecoming move, revealed a system plagued by inconsistency, lack of structure, and what he called “peanut payments.”

“At Enyimba, we were receiving N7,000 a day. Sometimes N8,000. It’s not even stable. One day it’s N7k, another day N8k,” he said.

According to the former Super Eagles forward, these meagre daily allowances are given during away matches and are paid directly to the team captain for onward distribution to players.

Even more concerning, Brown Ideye claimed that players are left to fend for themselves on match days, with no provision from the club.

“If we had a game on Sunday and travelled on Friday, they would pay N7,000 for Friday and Saturday, but on match day, Sunday, you’re on your own. No allowance”, Ideye revealed.

The ex-West Bromwich Albion and Olympiacos striker also slammed the club’s bonus payment structure, stating that players are forced to wait until the season ends to receive what they have earned on the pitch.

“The worst part is you don’t get your match bonus weekly or monthly. They accumulate it and give you at the end of the season,” Ideye lamented.

He added that even those accumulated bonuses are arbitrarily decided, with no fixed agreement in place before the season begins. Club officials, he claimed, determine payouts based on the perceived importance of each match.

“It depends on what the captain, chairman or director agree on before the season”, he said. “There is no fixed structure. If it’s a game they really want to win, they may raise it to N30k or N40k. But on average, it’s N15k, sometimes N10k.”

Players left out of the matchday squad fare even worse, according to Ideye. He revealed that such players receive only N5,000 as a “token bonus,” highlighting what he views as the club’s disregard for professionalism.

With an illustrious career spanning top leagues in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, and as a key figure in Nigeria’s 2013 Africa Cup of Nations triumph, Ideye’s words carry weight. His experience abroad has given him a clearer contrast between global football standards and the realities back home.

“When I got there, that’s what I met on the ground. I couldn’t believe it,” he added.

His comments reignite ongoing conversations about the state of player welfare in Nigerian club football, with many calling for reforms, transparency, and a proper financial structure in the domestic game.

At the time of writing, Enyimba has not publicly reacted to Brown Ideye’s comments.