FIFA to assess Nigeria’s football reforms before approving NFF committee
More details have emerged from Tuesday’s meeting between a Nigerian delegation led by National Sports Commission Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino at the world football governing body’s headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. The meeting followed the mass resignation of the Ibrahim Gusau-led Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, board after intense public pressure, prompting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to order comprehensive reforms in Nigerian football. The President described the situation as a national emergency, highlighting concerns over the decline in the country’s football structure and performance. In response, the National Sports Commission, which supervises the NFF, proposed the establishment of a Normalisation Committee to oversee the reform process and organise fresh elections for a new NFF board. FIFA welcomed the Nigerian delegation and described the discussions as fruitful but stopped short of approving the proposed committee. Instead, FIFA is expected to send a delegation to Nigeria before taking a final position on the normalisation arrangement. The world football governing body is also expected to play a major role in selecting members of the proposed committee.
The mass resignation of the Gusau-led NFF board created a leadership vacuum that the proposed Normalisation Committee is expected to fill temporarily while reforms are carried out. Although initial reports suggested the committee could operate for about three months, sources indicate that its tenure could extend from six months to as long as one year to allow the National Sports Commission to carry out the reforms thoroughly. FIFA is expected to be closely involved in the selection of members, who would undergo mandatory integrity and eligibility checks similar to those required of executive committee members of FIFA-affiliated associations. The National Sports Commission is currently in talks with FIFA on the process following Tuesday’s meeting in Zurich. One of the leading candidates to head the committee is AbdulHakeem Uthman Mustapha, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who is reportedly favoured by a majority of power brokers in the Presidency. His profile, according to Nigerian sports publication Sports Village Square, shows that he is a member of FIFA’s Anti-Racism and Anti-Discrimination Committee, a position that gives him direct exposure to FIFA and its administrative framework.
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