NFF At Crossroads AS FIFA, CAF Meet Congress, Stakeholders In Abuja

All is now set for a crucial meeting between the world football governing body, FIFA, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and stakeholders in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) crisis, with the future structure of the country’s football administration expected to dominate discussions.

The FIFA and CAF delegations, who have arrived in Abuja for the high-level consultations, are expected to meet with the Acting NFF General Secretary, Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme, at the federation’s headquarters at noon on Monday before proceeding to the Abuja Continental Hotel for a wider engagement with members of the NFF Congress.

The meeting with state Football Association chairmen and secretaries, as well as other Congress members, is scheduled for 2pm and is expected to provide the international football bodies with an opportunity to hear directly from those at the heart of the current dispute.

The consultations come against the backdrop of the leadership crisis that has engulfed the NFF following the resignation of former president Ibrahim Gusau and several members of his executive board, as well as the subsequent intervention by the National Sports Commission (NSC).

The crisis has triggered competing proposals over how the affairs of the federation should be managed pending a resolution of the governance and electoral questions confronting Nigerian football.

According to a source familiar with the developments, the FIFA and CAF delegations are expected to focus particularly on the competing proposals for an interim administration of the NFF.

One of the key options being pushed by members of the NFF Congress is the establishment of a caretaker committee, reportedly involving representatives of the state FA chairmen and other members of the Congress.

The proposal is understood to have emerged from consultations among sections of the NFF Congress, who believe an interim arrangement should be driven by football stakeholders within the existing structures of the federation.

On the other hand, the Federal Government, through the NSC and other interest groups, has been advocating a different approach — the setting up of a normalisation committee to take charge of the federation’s affairs and address the governance issues before a fresh electoral process.

The choice between the two options is therefore expected to be one of the most contentious issues before the FIFA and CAF delegations.

The international bodies are expected to listen to the different positions before determining whether either proposal can provide a credible and acceptable pathway out of the crisis while remaining consistent with FIFA’s statutes and principles on the autonomy of national football associations.

The FIFA and CAF intervention is particularly significant because the international football bodies have been closely monitoring developments in Nigeria following the resignation of Gusau and other members of his board.