FIFA has announced it is suspending judgement on the leadership crisis engulfing the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), citing the need for more time to fully assess the situation’s legal and administrative ramifications.
The world football governing body is working closely with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to review the developments following the resignations of NFF President Ibrahim Gusau, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi, and other executive committee members.
In a letter addressed to NFF Deputy General Secretary Emmanuel Ikpeme, FIFA confirmed it has not yet decided on a course of action in response to the mass resignations.
We refer to the various communications recently received by FIFA and CAF concerning developments within the Nigeria Football Federation, including the notifications relating to the resignation of the NFF President, members of the Executive Committee and the General Secretary, as well as additional correspondence received from other football stakeholders in Nigeria,” wrote Elkhan Mammadov, FIFA’s Chief Member Associations Officer.
FIFA and CAF are also considering the outcome of a meeting held in Zurich on September 1 with Nigerian officials, led by National Sports Commission (NSC) Chairman Shehu Dikko. During this meeting, the current state of the NFF was discussed at length. Both FIFA and CAF are now evaluating the legal, governance, administrative, and electoral implications of these recent events.
These resignations come amid mounting criticism of Nigeria’s football leadership, especially after both the men’s and women’s senior national teams failed to qualify for their respective World Cups. The crisis has erupted just weeks before the scheduled NFF elections on September 27, with the NSC moving to implement President Bola Tinubu’s directive to address what he termed “repeated failures.
FIFA has stated that the election process will remain on hold while its review continues, making it unlikely that a normalisation committee or any other intervention will be established until the assessment is complete.
According to FIFA, “This assessment requires a careful review of the relevant facts, the applicable NFF regulatory framework, and the positions communicated by the various stakeholders concerned. 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.”
Although the NSC has endorsed Emmanuel Ikpeme as acting NFF General Secretary, FIFA continues to refer to him as Deputy General Secretary in its communications and has instructed him to be the main point of contact between the NFF and both FIFA and CAF.
FIFA has also emphasized that the suspension of the election is not an endorsement of any particular development within the NFF. Furthermore, it announced that officials from FIFA and CAF will travel to Abuja to meet with the NFF, members of its Congress, electoral bodies, and the NSC. This mission is intended to give FIFA and CAF a clearer understanding of recent developments, stakeholder perspectives, and any issues that require further consideration under the various regulatory frameworks.
At the conclusion of this assessment process, FIFA and CAF will decide whether to present any recommendations or proposals to their respective decision-making bodies in accordance with their statutes and regulations. Until then, the outcome remains open and no assumptions should be made about any future actions by FIFA or CAF, the statement concluded.
