FIFA Suspends NFF September 27 Election, Begins Assessment After Mass Resignation

The future of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) remains uncertain after FIFA suspended the planned September 27 election and said it was still studying the crisis that followed the resignation of the federation’s top officials.

FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said they were yet to decide on the next step after the resignation of NFF President Ibrahim Gusau, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi and other members of the Executive Committee.

The two football bodies made their position known in a letter addressed to NFF Deputy General Secretary, Emmanuel Ikpeme, on Monday, Naija News reports.

Gusau led the mass resignation on Thursday, August 27, following growing concerns over the poor performances of Nigeria’s national and youth teams.

The development came after the failure of the senior men’s and women’s teams to qualify for their respective World Cups, leading to increased pressure on the NFF leadership.

The resignations also came just weeks before the NFF election scheduled for September 27.

The National Sports Commission (NSC) later stepped into the matter following President Bola Tinubu’s call for action over what he described as repeated failures in Nigerian football.

On September 1, an NSC delegation led by its Chairman, Shehu Dikko, met with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and other officials at the FIFA House in Zurich, Switzerland, to discuss the situation.

But FIFA said the meeting and other communications from Nigerian stakeholders had not yet resulted in a decision.

In the letter signed by FIFA’s Chief Member Associations Officer, Elkhan Mammadov, the world football body said it was working with CAF to examine the situation.

“We also refer to the meeting held at the Home of FIFA in Zurich on 1 September between FIFA, CAF, the NFF administration and representatives from the Federal Government of Nigeria, during which the current situation of the NFF was discussed,” Mammadov said.

He explained that FIFA and CAF were reviewing the legal, governance, administrative and electoral implications of the developments.

FIFA, CAF Have Not Reached Any Conclusions

According to him, the assessment would involve a review of the facts, the NFF’s regulations and the positions presented by the various stakeholders.

“At this stage, FIFA and CAF have not reached any conclusions regarding the matters under review and no determination has been made with respect to any potential next steps,” he said.

With the assessment still ongoing, any move to establish a normalisation committee for the NFF has also been put on hold.

FIFA referred to Ikpeme as the Deputy General Secretary in its letter, despite his endorsement by the NSC as acting General Secretary of the federation.

The world football body also directed Ikpeme to remain the main contact between the NFF, FIFA and CAF until further notice.

FIFA said the September 27 election must be suspended to give it and CAF time to complete their assessment and consult the relevant stakeholders.

It stressed that the suspension did not amount to an endorsement of any of the developments within the NFF.

As part of the next phase of the process, FIFA and CAF will send delegations to Abuja to meet with the NFF, members of the NFF Congress, the federation’s electoral bodies and the National Sports Commission.

The meetings are expected to give the two football bodies a clearer picture of the crisis and the views of the different stakeholders.

FIFA said it would consider whether to make recommendations or proposals to its competent decision-making bodies after the assessment.

It, however, warned that no conclusion should be drawn yet about the action it or CAF may eventually take.

“The mission will allow FIFA and CAF to better understand the circumstances surrounding the recent developments within the NFF, the views of the various stakeholders and any issues that may require further consideration under the applicable FIFA, CAF and NFF regulatory framework.

“Following completion of this assessment process, FIFA and CAF will determine whether any recommendations or proposals should be submitted to the competent decision-making bodies within FIFA and CAF in accordance with their respective Statutes and regulations.

“Until such time, the outcome of the assessment remains open, and no assumptions should be made as to any action that FIFA and CAF may or may not take,” FIFA noted.