ABUJA, NIGERIA — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has issued a presidential directive for a comprehensive overhaul and reform of Nigerian football governance, administration, and technical development structures.
The presidential intervention comes hours after the mass resignation of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President Ibrahim Musa Gusau and members of the NFF Executive Board, following widespread public outcry over repeated national team failures—notably the Super Falcons’ failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Core Pillars of the Presidential Directive
In an official statement released by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu noted that structural deficits within football administration continue to hold back the nation despite significant public investment:
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Addressing Structural Deficits: The President highlighted that while other sports sectors have recorded measurable progress under the re-established National Sports Commission (NSC), football has lagged due to deep-seated administrative and institutional weaknesses.
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Mandate to NSC Leadership: Tinubu directed the Chairman of the NSC to collaborate immediately with the NFF Secretariat and domestic stakeholders to ensure continuity in core operations while driving a broad, consultative reform process.
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International Safeguards (FIFA/CAF Alignment): The reform roadmap will actively engage the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and FIFA to ensure full compliance with international football regulations while safeguarding Nigeria against third-party interference bans.
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6 Key Target Areas: The overhaul will focus on governance, administrative standards, stakeholder representation, youth development pathways, domestic league competitions, and financial accountability.
“Football, Nigeria’s most popular sport and the greatest beneficiary of public support, investment and national attention, has continued to struggle basically due to structural deficits within the system. The reform must respond to a longstanding need to strengthen governance, administration, development pathways, domestic competitions, and accountability across Nigerian football.”
— President Bola Ahmed Tinubu
