Nigeria’s football crisis requires more than the replacement of the Nigeria Football Federation board, with an editorial by Premium Times calling for deeper reforms across the sport.
The call follows the resignation of the 13-member NFF board led by Ibrahim Gusau, which left office 34 days before its tenure was due to expire.
FIFA Suspends Planned NFF Congress
Following the mass resignation, FIFA asked the NFF to halt plans for its September 27 elective congress.
In a September 7 letter, the world football governing body said it and the Confederation of African Football would conduct a joint assessment mission in Abuja.
FIFA said the review would examine the facts surrounding the crisis and consider the positions of various stakeholders within the NFF’s regulatory framework.
The crisis intensified after the Super Falcons failed to qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
Nigeria’s women’s team was eliminated by Cameroon in the quarter-finals of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco before subsequently losing a playoff opportunity to South Africa.
The Super Eagles had also failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, while Nigeria’s U-20 and U-17 teams missed their respective World Cup competitions.
₦12bn Football Fund Under Scrutiny
The editorial raised questions about how the NFF handled a ₦12bn intervention fund released by the Federal Government in 2024 to clear outstanding players’ allowances and bonuses.
It called for the completion and publication of investigations by anti-corruption agencies into the use of the money.
The editorial said football officials should be held accountable for funds that were not used for their intended purposes.
It also noted that players had repeatedly complained about unpaid allowances, including arrears reportedly dating back several years.
FIFA Probe Should Lead to Reform
The editorial welcomed FIFA’s proposed fact-finding mission but warned that simply organising another NFF election without addressing the underlying problems would achieve little.
It highlighted persistent disputes, internal divisions, litigation and allegations of financial mismanagement as problems that have affected Nigerian football for years.
The editorial argued that young Nigerians hoping to build careers through football have suffered as a result of poor administration.
It concluded:
“Not tackling the menace to its roots will take FIFA’s enquiry and a subsequently constituted NFF board to nowhere.”
The editorial also urged the Federal Government and football authorities to use the current crisis as an opportunity to overhaul the administration of the sport.
