•Time to rescue Nigeria’s football from an unconscionable cabal
Again, for about the third time in the same number of months, the axe of the world football ruling body, FIFA dangles on the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF). Nigeria faces the disgraceful prospect of being suspended from participating in all international football events as a result of persistent misbehaviour of her football administrators.
Just as the Nigerian female football team was about to play in the finals of the African Women Championship in Windhoek, Namibia, last weekend, some misguided administrators were in court, obviously forum shopping and exploiting legal loopholes to throw spanner in the works.
An exasperated Issa Hayatou, President of the Confederation of African Football, CAF, could not contain his anger anymore; he berated Nigeria’s officials saying: “I had to plead passionately with FIFA President Mr. Sepp Blatter not to take action on Nigeria on Friday, because Nigeria was in the final of the African Women Championship and a ban on your country would have been bad for the competition and our sponsors. We all heard the news of the court ruling on Thursday and the football world is angry with Nigeria. That is the truth.”
No sooner had the World Cup ended in Brazil last July than all hell seemed to have broken loose on Nigeria’s football. The ensuing crises led to two previous threats from FIFA to hand Nigeria a long suspension from playing football with the rest of the world. After what seemed like endless skirmishes, some harmony was achieved at a general convention of the NFF in September in Warri, Delta State, during which new executives were elected. Both FIFA and CAF affirmed the new officers and the world thought Nigeria had finally got her house in order. But that was only until last Thursday when a member returned to a court in Jos, Plateau State, which set aside the newly constituted NFF board.
The issues plaguing the Nigerian football house are quite straightforward and uncomplicated, but like in most things Nigerian, the plain are made complex for the sake of personal gains. The first point to note is that football all over the world is governed by FIFA and every country must play by FIFA statutes. But not so in Nigeria, there is another set of local laws which sometimes run counter to FIFA’s rules.
Second, in other climes, football (as in most other sports) is not the affair of government but usually that of association of club owners and stakeholders. They organise it strictly as business and they swim or sink according to their abilities, resources and ingenuity. Here, government has immersed itself in football; throwing ample fund around, which is the reason for the unrelenting scramble to control the football house.
Reiterating the point, a peeved Hayatou had told Nigerian officials in Windhoek that: “Nigeria signed to be part of football by joining FIFA, and opted to abide by the FIFA-approved statutes… How many times do we have to tell your country that football matters are not to be taken to civil courts? If Nigeria no longer wants to be part of the world football, then so be it.”
Not a few Nigerians are so disgusted with the shameful antics of the so-called football administrators that they would rather FIFA suspended Nigeria so that she may get sober and put her house in order. But suspension would harm the youths more who find in soccer, a viable escape from poverty and deprivation.
For instance, Nigeria just won the AWC and has qualified to play in the world tourney. She won the World Under-17 men Championship last year and is preparing to defend it, while the senior team is playing in the qualifiers for the African Nations Cup, among others. All these redound positively on hundreds of youths not to mention the salutary effect of football in helping to uplift and unite the populace.
It has become utterly embarrassing that Nigeria is now the universal metaphor for shoddy football management. Government must hands-off and set up an enabling environment for football to thrive in Nigeria.
