NFF: FA Chairmen Tell FIFA, CAF ‘No Crisis In Nigeria’s Football’, Reject Normalisation Committee

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Congress remains capable of resolving the federation’s leadership vacuum and driving the proposed reforms, Chairman of the Gombe State Football Association, Yakubu Sarma, has told FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Sarma, who led the delegation of state FA chairmen to Monday’s meeting with FIFA and CAF officials in Abuja, said the stakeholders made it clear that Nigerian football was not in crisis despite the absence of an elected NFF leadership.

He also disclosed that the FA chairmen had rejected the idea of bringing outsiders to take charge of the reform process, insisting that the NFF Congress could establish an interim or caretaker structure in line with the federation’s statutes.

The meeting was part of a series of consultations by FIFA and CAF with major stakeholders following the resignation of former NFF President Ibrahim Gusau and other members of his board, which created a leadership vacuum at the federation.

Speaking shortly after the meeting, Sarma said the FA chairmen’s delegation drew a distinction between the leadership vacuum at the NFF and a crisis in Nigerian football.

“First and foremost, we appreciate CAF and FIFA for finding it worthwhile to come and assess what is actually happening in Nigerian football,” Sarma said.

“The key issue we presented before FIFA as Congress members representing the FAs is that Nigerian football is not in crisis.

“Nigerian football is not in any way in crisis because our leagues are on, our clubs are playing their continental matches, our girls are playing international football and the NFF secretariat is functioning. So, there is no crisis in Nigerian football. That is number one.”

‘Congress can resolve leadership vacuum’

Sarma acknowledged that there was a leadership vacuum at the NFF but argued that the existing statutes already provide the mechanism for addressing the situation.

“Secondly, we recognise that there is a leadership vacuum, and the question is: how do we go about filling the vacuum so that we can continue?” he said.

“The position of the FA chairmen, as members of Congress, is that the statutes of the Nigeria Football Federation, as well as the CAF and FIFA statutes, have provided all the necessary mechanisms through which this kind of leadership vacuum can be settled.

“We don’t need to go outside the established framework to start bringing about a solution.”

His position puts the FA chairmen at odds with elements of the reform process being pursued by the National Sports Commission (NSC), particularly over the proposed mechanism for managing the transition and implementing reforms.

Sarma, however, stressed that the Congress was not opposed to reform and claimed that significant elements of the NSC’s proposed reform framework had already been incorporated into the NFF statutes.

FA chairmen: ‘We are not against reform’

“One cardinal thing that the Congress members, as FA chairmen, agreed upon and stated before FIFA is that nobody is against reform,” he said.

“In fact, it will interest you to know that we presented before FIFA the recent reform that we carried out through the statute amendment.

“Out of the 54 reform frameworks presented by the National Sports Commission, 67 per cent has already been carried through the amendment of the statute. Only some percentage is actually not there.

“So, we are ready for reform, but the reform vehicle is what we are actually talking about. Let us do it internally; we don’t need people to come from outside to reform us.”

Sarma said the NFF Congress remained a functioning statutory organ and could establish a structure to oversee both the transition and reform process.

“What we mean by ‘outside’ is that the Congress is still standing and has the capacity, through the statute, to set up a caretaker committee to carry out the reform process, and not for outsiders to reform us,” he said.

Normalisation committee or interim committee?

According to Sarma, the fundamental disagreement between the FA chairmen and the NSC is not over the need for reform but over who should lead the process.

“For now, the point of disagreement is whether there should be a normalisation committee or an interim committee,” he said.

“That is the only area where we differ with the National Sports Commission as Congress, and our point is that you don’t bring somebody from outside to reform you. You can reform yourself if you so wish.”

The FA chairmen’s position emerged as FIFA and CAF stepped up consultations with Nigeria’s football stakeholders following the leadership changes at the NFF.

The international bodies have been holding separate meetings with various constituencies, including state FA chairmen, the NFF Electoral Committee, players’ representatives and other Congress members, rather than conducting one general session with all stakeholders.

The consultations are expected to give FIFA and CAF a clearer picture of the governance situation and the competing positions on how the leadership vacuum should be resolved and the proposed reforms implemented.

The dispute over a normalisation committee or an internally constituted interim structure is particularly significant because it could determine the immediate future of the NFF, including the fate of its electoral process.

The FA chairmen have maintained that the NFF Congress should retain ownership of the process, arguing that the federation’s statutes provide the legal framework for both resolving the leadership vacuum and pursuing reforms.

FIFA and CAF are expected to continue their consultations with other stakeholders on Tuesday before determining the next steps.