By Dorcas Francis Koji
FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) have concluded their assessment of the crisis within the Nigeria Football Federation, with sharply different proposals from key stakeholders now leaving the world and continental governing bodies to determine the next steps for Nigerian football.
The two-day assessment mission ended on Tuesday following consultations with various groups within the NFF, including players’ representatives, coaches, referees, state football associations and the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria.
The FIFA delegation was led by Ahmed Harraz, Team Lead of FIFA’s Member Association Governance Services, and Rolf Tanner, FIFA Head of Member Association Governance. They were joined by El Hadj Wack Diop, who leads FIFA’s Regional Office for West Africa, and CAF Legal Manager Nnaemeka Olu.
The mission followed the mass resignation of NFF President Ibrahim Gusau, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi and other board members on August 27, amid growing concerns over the performance of Nigeria’s national and youth teams.
The failure of the Super Eagles and Super Falcons to qualify for their respective World Cups has further intensified calls for changes in the administration of Nigerian football.
According to one participant at the consultations, the players’ union, coaches and referees agreed on a broad reform pathway that would provide greater representation for different football stakeholders.
“The players union, coaches and referees association aligned on the same pathway for Nigeria football reform. Representation on the congress, NFF board, its standing committees and voting rights must be equal in the new governing structure. We also agreed on a normalisation process driven by stakeholders,” the participant told The PUNCH.
However, the state football association chairmen, who form the largest bloc within the NFF Congress and control a significant portion of its voting strength, reportedly rejected calls for the establishment of a normalisation committee.
The state FA leaders argued that the existing NFF Congress has the authority and capacity to address the leadership vacuum through the federation’s established structures.
Gombe State FA chairman and leader of the state FA delegation, Yakubu Sarma, reinforced that position after the meeting with FIFA and CAF.
“The key issue we presented before FIFA as Congress members representing the FAs is that Nigerian football is not in crisis. Nigerian football is not in any way in crisis because our leagues are on, our clubs are playing their continental matches, our girls are playing international football and the NFF Secretariat is functioning.
“We don’t need to go outside the established framework to start bringing about a solution,” Sarma said.
Another representative at the consultations, however, suggested that the state FA position could face opposition, particularly because a normalisation process may be considered consistent with FIFA’s statutes in circumstances involving governance disputes.
Adding another dimension to the debate, former NFF presidents and general secretaries have jointly petitioned the FIFA and CAF mission, calling for the immediate establishment of a six-month normalisation committee.
The proposal was endorsed by former NFF presidents Sani Lulu Abdullahi and Aminu Maigari, former first vice-president Obinna Ogba, and former general secretaries Fanny Amun, Sani Toro, Bolaji Ojo-Oba and Musa Amadu.
The former officials proposed a structured transition beginning with broad stakeholder consultations, followed by local football council elections, State FA elections, an expanded NFF Congress and, ultimately, national NFF elections.
They also called for a review of the composition of the NFF Congress, arguing that State FAs currently hold approximately 84 per cent of the voting power.
According to the former officials, the governance structure should provide broader representation for leagues, players, coaches, referees and grassroots football stakeholders.
They maintained that simply replacing individuals in the federation would not be sufficient to resolve the underlying problems, urging FIFA and CAF to use the assessment exercise to establish a clear, transparent and binding governance framework for Nigerian football.
With the consultations now concluded, attention shifts to FIFA and CAF as they consider the competing proposals and determine the appropriate path for reform, leadership succession and the restoration of stability within the NFF.
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