April 04, (THEWILL) – The Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) board of directors, led by its President, Amaju Melvin Pinnick, has been asked to quit honourably and allow Nigerian football a new lease of life.
In the aftermath of the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022, the Guild of Sports Editors, an umbrella association of sports editors from the country’s main media outlets, proffered this as a way forward.
The editors reasoned that if the board members continued to misdirect the country’s football, after last Tuesday’s misadventure, they would be doing the country a grave disservice.
The editors branded the move to sack members of the Super Eagles’ technical staff as diversionary, in a statement signed by the Guild’s Vice President, Adekunle Salami.
Adding that Nigerian football required a clean break from the lethargy of the previous eight years, the statement read: “Nigerian football is bigger than any individual and should not be tied to the fortunes of anybody.
“The leadership of the current NFF has ridden on the back of Nigerian football to get to top positions in world football governing body, FIFA, to the detriment of the game.
“Nigerian football now needs total overhaul, from the lowest league to the national team and that can only happen when patriotic individuals, not self-seekers, are given the opportunity to manage the game.
“We call on the National Assembly, Federal Government, and especially, Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, to begin the process of cleansing the football house.
“Tuesday’s failure is a one of the results of poor decision making, dishonest deployment of men and materials, as well as avarice that have eaten deep into the fabrics of the NFF.
“We ask, therefore, that every executive member of the federation should resign honourably;
“All the back room staff, including Super Eagles secretary, team manager and protocol officer, among other officers, who have spent more than 10 years in office, must be redeployed to allow for fresh ideas.”
The editors accused the NFF’s present leadership of ruining Nigerian football, claiming that several board members use their positions to pursue selfish goals.
The Guild cited the example of Sharafeddine Emara, the head of the Algeria Football Federation (AFF), who resigned after his country failed to qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, following a 2-1 loss to Cameroon at home.
“It is unfortunate that the NFF has killed the local league to such an extent that no player from the domestic game is deemed capable of playing for the Super Eagles.
“The junior national teams, which, hitherto, was a nursery for the Super Eagles, no longer produces quality youngsters because of the corruption that has killed the age grade teams.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
