The Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) future is still up in the air after FIFA postponed the election scheduled for September 27 and stated that it was still investigating the situation that followed the departure of the federation’s top leaders.
Following the resignations of NFF President Ibrahim Gusau, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi, and other Executive Committee members, FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced they had not yet made a decision on what to do next.
According to Naija News, the two football organizations expressed their opinions in a letter sent on Monday to NFF Deputy General Secretary Emmanuel Ikpeme.
Gusau spearheaded the mass resignation on Thursday, August 27, in response to mounting worries about the subpar results of Nigeria’s youth and national teams.
The NFF leadership was under more pressure following the senior men’s and women’s teams’ inability to qualify for their respective World Cups.
Additionally, the resignations occurred only a few weeks prior to the September 27 NFF election.
After President Bola Tinubu called for action over what he called “repeated failures in Nigerian football,” the National Sports Commission (NSC) intervened.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino and other officials met with an NSC team headed by Shehu Dikko on September 1 at the FIFA House in Zurich, Switzerland, to examine the situation.
FIFA, however, stated that no decision had yet been made as a result of the meeting and additional correspondence from Nigerian parties.
FIFA, the world football organization, stated in the letter written by Elkhan Mammadov, Chief Member Associations Officer, that it was collaborating with CAF to investigate the matter.
“We also refer to the meeting between FIFA, CAF, the NFF administration, and representatives from the Federal Government of Nigeria that was held at FIFA’s home in Zurich on September 1st, during which the current state of the NFF was discussed,” Mammadov stated.
He clarified that FIFA and CAF were examining the developments’ legal, governance, administrative, and electoral ramifications.
FIFA and CAF have not come to any conclusions.
He stated that the evaluation will entail an examination of the facts, the NFF’s rules, and the opinions put out by the different stakeholders.
He stated, “At this point, FIFA and CAF have not reached any conclusions regarding the matters under review and no determination has been made with respect to any potential next steps.”
Any plans to create a normalization committee for the NFF have also been postponed while the assessment continues.
Despite the NSC’s acceptance of Ikpeme as the federation’s acting general secretary, FIFA referred to him in its letter as the deputy general secretary.
Ikpeme was instructed by the world football organization to continue serving as the primary liaison between the NFF, FIFA, and CAF until further notice.
FIFA stated that in order to provide it and CAF time to finish their evaluation and confer with the pertinent parties, the election scheduled for September 27 must be postponed.
It emphasized that none of the events within the NFF were endorsed by the suspension.
FIFA and CAF will send delegations to Abuja as part of the next stage of the process to meet with the National Sports Commission, the NFF, members of the NFF Congress, and the federation’s electoral structures.
The two football bodies are anticipated to gain a better understanding of the problem and the perspectives of the various stakeholders as a result of the discussions.
FIFA stated that following the evaluation, it would decide whether to offer suggestions or recommendations to its appropriate decision-making authorities.
However, it cautioned against drawing any conclusions about what it or CAF could do in the future.
“The mission will give FIFA and CAF a better understanding of the circumstances surrounding the recent developments within the NFF, the opinions of the various stakeholders, and any issues that might need more consideration under the relevant FIFA, CAF, and NFF regulatory framework.”
“After this evaluation process is finished, FIFA and CAF will decide if any suggestions or ideas should be sent to the appropriate decision-making organizations within FIFA and CAF in compliance with their respective statutes and rules.
FIFA stated, “Until then, the assessment’s outcome remains open, and no assumptions should be made as to any action that FIFA and CAF may or may not take.”
