Speaking with journalists, Katsina United Football Club's Chairperson and supervising coordinator, Surajo Malumfashi, confirmed that the affected players had previously gone unpaid for several months after joining the club.

Katsina United FC have paid five months of outstanding salary arrears owed to its newly recruited players and moved them onto the Katsina State Government payroll, club officials said on Monday.

The development followed the completion of biometric data capture for players and officials, a process the club said was necessary before integrating staff into the state salary system.

Speaking with journalists, the club's Chairperson and supervising coordinator, Surajo Malumfashi, confirmed that the affected players had previously gone unpaid for several months after joining the club.

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He said the arrears were cleared after the Katsina State Government approved funds for the payments.

Salary delays and irregular payments are common across state-owned football clubs in Nigeria, often affecting players' welfare and performance during the league season.

Mr Malumfashi said the club's players, technical crew and backroom staff have now been formally captured into the state government salary structure and are expected to receive their wages monthly.

He also disclosed that more than 100 homegrown players from the club's Team B and Under-19 sides have been placed on the payroll, with a minimum monthly wage of N50,000.

While describing the move as a step towards stabilising the club's operations, he did not say whether mechanisms had been put in place to prevent future salary backlogs.

Katsina United, like many state-funded clubs, relies largely on government subventions, a funding model critics say often leaves teams vulnerable to delayed payments and administrative bottlenecks.