…Orders comprehensive reform of Nigerian football ABUJA — President Bola Tinubu has directed the Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Malam Shehu Dikko, to work with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Secretariat and relevant football stakeholders to ensure continuity in essential football administration and facilitate a broad reform of the country’s football sector. The […] The post Tinubu directs Dikko, NFF Secretariat to ensure football administration continuity appeared first
…Orders comprehensive reform of Nigerian football
ABUJA — President Bola Tinubu has directed the Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Malam Shehu Dikko, to work with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Secretariat and relevant football stakeholders to ensure continuity in essential football administration and facilitate a broad reform of the country’s football sector.
The directive is part of a comprehensive reform ordered by the President to address Nigeria’s repeated failures to qualify for major regional, continental and global football competitions.
Tinubu said the reform should strengthen governance, administration, stakeholder representation, player development pathways, domestic competitions and accountability across Nigerian football.
“The reform must respond to a longstanding need to strengthen governance, administration, stakeholder representation, development pathways, domestic competitions and accountability across Nigerian football,” the President said.
According to a statement issued on Thursday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, Tinubu noted that while other sports had recorded meaningful progress following the reset of the sector under the re-established NSC, football had continued to struggle because of structural weaknesses.
“Football, Nigeria’s most popular sport and the greatest beneficiary of public support, investment and national attention, has continued to struggle basically due to structural deficits within the system,” he said.
The President stressed the need for Nigerian football to match the country’s abundant talent, passion and resources with stronger institutions and sustained performance.
As part of the reform process, Dikko was directed to work with the NFF Secretariat and other stakeholders to maintain essential football administration while facilitating broad consultations on the way forward.
The process will also involve appropriate engagement with the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF), while safeguarding Nigeria’s obligations under the international football framework.
The directive comes against the backdrop of mounting concerns over the performance and administration of Nigerian football, including the failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Super Falcons also failed to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, ending Nigeria’s record of appearing at every edition of the competition since its inception in 1991.
Tinubu called on football stakeholders and Nigerians to support the transition and work together towards building a stronger, more accountable and successful football system.
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