The National Sports Commission (NSC) has cancelled the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) electoral congress, which was scheduled to hold on September 27 in Lafia, Nasarawa State, to pave the way for a thorough reorganisation of the federation.
This move has severely jolted the Ibrahim Gusau-led executive committee, which was bidding for a second term in office, having taken the mantle four years ago.
In the interim, the NSC is set to name a “normalisation committee” to run the nation’s football affairs for three months.
The NSC arrived at this step last Thursday when the Super Falcons were eliminated from the African playoff for the 2027 World Cup by the Banyana Banyana of South Africa, in Morocco.
The Super Falcons have appeared at every edition of the FIFA World Cup since the tournament began in China in 1991.
The NSC was said to have got the permission of the World Football governing body (FIFA) after it assured the embattled President Gianni Infantino of Nigeria’s support in his re-election bid.
The NSC is said to have also reached out to the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Patrice Motsepe.
With Gusau off the line, the NSC’s initial move to allegedly bring in the former President of the NFF, Amaju Pinnick, was said to have hit the rocks following his rejection by some top officials in the Presidency.
The Guardian, however, learnt yesterday that the Presidency has given the NSC the approval to announce the normalisation committee within 48 hours. It was not clear, yesterday, who the NSC finally picked to head the committee.
“Some other names came up after some top officials in the Presidency turned down NSC’s suggestion of making Amaju Pinnick the head of the Normalisation Committee,” a source told The Guardian yesterday. “For now, I don’t really know who will head the Committee, but one thing I know is that Amaju is no longer in the picture.
After Pinnick was rejected, “Some top officials in the Presidency also complained about NSC’s earlier decision to retain Dr Mohammed Sanusi as the secretary in the committee. The key person in the Presidency travelled out, and he is expected back in Abuja on Monday or Tuesday after which the composition of the committee would be made public, at the latest, on Tuesday.”
The normalisation committee, which will be in charge of the nation’s football for three months, is expected to prepare the ground for a new NFF election, including taking care of the grey areas many stakeholders had complained about.
When The Guardian contacted a top official of the NSC yesterday, he declined comment, saying that it was a sensitive matter. “We are working, and Nigerians will hear from us very soon,” he said.
The Gusau-led administration alone has recorded seven clear failures since taking office, with the most painful being Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The failure came despite Nigeria having a large pool of established players and an expanded African allocation for the 2026 World Cup.
The situation has raised fresh questions about the effectiveness of the country’s football development structure and the management of resources available to the NFF.
Nigeria has received substantial financial support from different sources over the years, including the Federal Government, which has provided funding and interventions for national teams and football programmes, while FIFA’s Forward Programme has also channelled development resources into the country.
COURTESY: guardian.ng/sports
