Appeal Court Sacks Ibrahim Gusau-Led NFF Board Over Alleged Deceit
The Abuja Division of the Appeal Court on Friday sacked the Ibrahim Gusau-led Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Board. The decision, rendered in Appeal No: CA/ABJ/CV/1006/2022, saw Justice Barika’s panel, accompanied by Justices Okon Abang and Justice Banjoko, nullify all ‘dubious’ orders linked to the purported NFF election of September 30th in Benin City, Edo State. Harrison Jalla, Chairman of the Task Force for the Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria (PFAN), affirmed that the court struck down all processes related to the NFF appeal, directing their immediate removal from the court’s systems. Legal representation included NFF’s Jibrin Okutepa SAN, represented by Peace Omiri and Barrister Arnold, while PFAN TASK FORCE had Dr. Celsus Ukpong, Chief Rumson Baribote, and Mary Waribo. The statement issued warned that any ousted NFF Board member presenting themselves post the ongoing AFCON in Ivory Coast would risk criminal contempt proceedings. At the time of press, no official statement from the NFF has been provided on this significant legal development.
NFF to set up normalization c’ttees for A’Ibom, Nasarawa, others
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has opted to immediately set up Normalization Committees for temporary administration of the Football Associations of Akwa Ibom, Nasarawa, Kogi and Kaduna States. This followed flagrant disregard of directives from the NFF by the said State FAs not to proceed with conduct of their elections as a result of court injunctions and petitions, in varying cases, and various shades of irregularities in the processes leading to the so-called elections. Ali Muhammad Abubakar, NFF’s Head of Member Associations, explained: “Normalization Committees will be set up for Akwa Ibom, Nasarawa, Kogi and Kaduna States. All four States have failed to uphold the Statutes and the electoral code in their processes. Article 85 of the FIFA-approved NFF Statutes, under Unforeseen Contingencies and Force Majeure clearly stipulates that ‘the Executive Committee shall have the final decision on any matters not provided for in the Statutes or in cases of force majeure’. “However, the NFF has decided to uphold the decision of the Edo State FA to pass a vote of no confidence on its chairman, Mr. Rowland Abu, and to have the vice chairman in the role of Ag. Chairman. He has been told to lead the charting of a roadmap to the conduct of free, fair and credible local football councils’ elections and subsequently, the FA executive committee elections.” Thenff.com gathered that a monitoring committee set up by the NFF will be in Jos on Monday, 12 June 2023 to assess the current situation in the Plateau State Football Association, and subsequently take a decision on the swirling controversies in the FA’s situation. A normalization committee was approved for Akwa Ibom State because elections were conducted in contravention of a court injunction, and subsequent advice by the NFF not to go ahead. The tenure of the executive committee had since elapsed on 23 May. With regards to Nasarawa State, so-called elections were conducted into the FA executive committee without first conducting elections into the local football councils, and the identities of delegates were shrouded in secrecy. The tenure of the FA board had since expired on 27 May. The situation in Kogi State was similar, with the tenure of the Kogi State FA executive committee having expired on 28 May. As for Kaduna State, the tenure of the board expired on 31 May without elections, either into the local football councils (which were dissolved nearly four years ago) or the State FA.
NFF, Tingo seal partnership agreement on Federation Cup
The country’s oldest football championship, known presently as Federation Cup, secured another title sponsor on Thursday as the Nigeria Football Federation and Tingo signed a partnership agreement on the prestigious competition. At a modest but colourful ceremony inside the NFF Secretariat, President of NFF, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau declared that the first partnership agreement in the life of the new NFF administration had taken some months to seal because his team places more premium on integrity and credibility of partnerships and relationships than the number of such relationships. “We took our time to conduct due diligence on the company and we found them to be upright and credible. For us, it is about credibility and integrity. A number of corporates have approached us for partnerships but we are taking our time to evaluate things. “I congratulate Tingo for their steadfastness to ensure the actualization of this relationship. We believe it is the beginning of great things that will happen between the company and the NFF going forward.” NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi added that the Federation is delighted to secure sponsorship for the oldest and most glamorous football championship in the land, and would go extra mile to ensure that Tingo derives the appropriate mileage from the title sponsorship. Chief Operating Officer of Tingo, Mr. Peter Owokolo commended the NFF for the opportunity given to the company to engage Nigeria Football at such a high level, and promised to explore areas of further positive contributions to the Nigeria game. “We are honoured to be here and to be able to take the title sponsorship of such a prestigious competition as the Federation Cup. It is a privilege. We are committed to promoting and positively projecting Nigeria Football in every way we can.” The Federation Cup began as the Governor’s Cup in 1945, and has been addressed variously as the Challenge Cup and the Football Association (FA) Cup over the decades. It became Federation Cup in 2008, when the Nigeria Football Association became Nigeria Football Federation following the approval of its Congress in Makurdi, Benue State. Also at the event were Tingo’s Project Coordinator, Dr. Segun Sanni; the Chairman/CEO of Skills and Dribbles Marketing Company (facilitators of the agreement), Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq; NFF Deputy General Secretary, Dr. Emmanuel Ikpeme; Director of Finance and Administration, Mr. E. C. Kadiri; Director of Communications, Mr. Ademola Olajire; Director of Legal, Barr. Okey Obi; Director of Audit, Mr. Yohanna Mathias; Head of Marketing and Sponsorship, Mr. Alizor Chuks; Head of Protocol, Mr. Barnabas Joro; Head of International Competitions, Mr. Enebi Achor and; Chief Operating Officer of the Nigeria Women Football League, Ms Modupe Shabi.
U20 W/Cup: F’Eagles stun hosts Argentina 2-0 to berth quarterfinals
Nigeria’ Flying Eagles eliminated host nation Argentina as goals from Ibrahim Muhammad and Rilwanu Haliru Sarki sent the six-time champions out of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup on Wednesday night. On an incredible night in western Argentina, the Flying Eagles pulled out every trick in the book to defend in numbers and then score two goals through quick counter-attacks. The performance in this round of 16 match had the Albiceleste Sub-20, who had won all their three matches in the group phase, stunned as they crashed out of the tournament. Nigeria Head Coach Ladan Bosso had promised that his boys would give as much as they got, and they did that and more with clear intent from the ninth minute. That was when a snapshot by Ibrahim Muhammad on the edge of the penalty box went narrowly off. There were even exchanges afterwards, and the South Americans came close with a header in the 39th minute. But the Flying Eagles returned with more stamina and guile in the second half and completely dominated the hosts in front of nearly 30,000 fans in San Juan. Goalkeeper Chijioke Aniagboso had saved from Barco in the 51st minute and Jude Sunday’s shot was held by the opposition goalie. Thereafter the two-time silver medallists struck the underside of the bar with an intelligent shot from the edge of the box by Tochukwu Nnadi in the 58th minute. The hosts did escape there, but would not be that lucky three minutes later, when from a long Aniagboso ball out, substitute Emmanuel Umeh found an onrushing Muhammad. He stretched beyond the attention of two defenders and pushed the ball beyond the advancing goalkeeper into the net. Two minutes later, Umeh could have turned goalscorer when he ran powerfully down the left and planted himself in a good position, but dragged his shot a little too wide. Carboni saw his shot held by the calm Aniagboso and then headed wide, before Umeh again came close only to be foiled with the goalkeeper beaten. The nifty Romero hit the upright with a deceptive shot in the 83rd minute. Also, Abel Ogwuche cleared the ball as two Argentines were set to pull the trigger in the 85th minute with things becoming really anxious. The hosts, who are under the tutelage of the legendary Javier Mascherano, poured forward in search of the equaliser, and were then open to a sucker punch. AC Milan’s Victor Eletu showed tenacity to hold on to another long Aniagboso ball out of defence. He then lifted for Haliru Sarki to nod into the net with aplomb for Nigeria’s second with one minute into added time. The victory somewhat atoned for Argentina’s 2-1 defeat of Nigeria in the final of the 2005 edition of the competition in The Netherlands. That was when Lionel Messi scored twice from the penalty kick spot to deny the African champions. Victory took the Flying Eagles to the quarter-finals, where they meet the winners of the Ecuador/South Korea Round of 16 duel to be decided on Thursday.
WAFU U20 Women Tourney: Falconets trounce Benin Republic 3-0 to reach Final
Nigeria strolled to a 3-0 win over Benin Republic in the second semi-final of the WAFU B U20 Women Championship in Kumasi on Wednesday, easily picking their ticket to the Final match to be decided on Saturday at the same Baba Yara Stadium. Expectedly, the World Cup quarter-finalists didn’t have to break much sweat on the night, with Amina Omowunmi Bello putting them in front in the 23rd minute of the game. Precocious attacking midfielder Esther Onyenezide hit a brace, scoring first in the 34th and then in the 52nd minute to put daylight between both teams in Ghana’s second city. Nigeria’s Chinyere Kalu was selected as Most Valuable Player of the Match. Hosts Ghana won the first semi final match, defeating Burkina Faso’s Dames 3-1 to reach the final on Saturday. Saturday’s final jangles the bell of the interesting rivalry between Ghana and Nigeria at all levels of the game, and the hosts would wish they could stop the 19-goal Falconets who are already looking like champions-in-waiting. Tournament top scorer Opeyemi Ajakaye did not add to her tally on Wednesday night, but Saturday’s final is a great opportunity for her to raise her total haul for the championship.
U-20 W/Cup: F’ Eagles will not be intimidated by Argentina crowd – Bosso
Hosts and six-time champions, Argentina will fancy being the favourites in their FIFA U20 World Cup Round of 16 duel with Nigeria in San Juan on Wednesday night, but Head Coach Ladan Bosso says his team will not be intimidated by the physicality of the opponents and the capacity crowd expected at the venue. The indigenes of the Land of Pampas barnstormed through their group stage, winning all their three matches against Uzbekistan, Guatemala and New Zealand, scoring 10 goals and conceding only one. They are already among the favourites for the title, by both pedigree and current form. Despite winning their first two matches, including beating early ravemakers Italy in commanding fashion, the Flying Eagles lost to Brazil 2-0 in La Plata on Saturday and some bookmakers think they stand no chance against the pumped-up home team. Bosso said on Tuesday, as his boys prepared for their official training session at match time (6pm Argentine time and 10pm Nigeria) that his Africa Cup of Nations bronze medallists will be ready to give as much as they receive in Wednesday’s encounter. “This is the World Cup and it is wrong to under-rate any team. We won two of our three matches and had the same number of points in our group as Brazil and Italy. We are no pushovers in this campaign. “It is going to be an interesting game. We want the quarter-final ticket and the Argentines also want the quarter-final ticket. We will go in there and dig our feet into the ground.” ALL THE QUARTER-FINAL MATCHES Brazil Vs Tunisia USA Vs New Zealand Uzbekistan Vs Israel Colombia Vs Slovakia Argentina Vs Nigeria England Vs Italy Gambia Vs Uruguay Ecuador Vs South Korea
Sunshine Stars target double glory in FA Cup, Super Six
Chairman of Sunshine Stars FC of Akure, Babatunde Ogunja has said the club is gunning for double glory this session. Ogunja said this in an interview in Awka ahead of Sunday’s FA Quarter Final clash against Bendel Insurance at the Awka township stadium. He said the Akure-based side were prepared and set to shock Insurance with their first defeat this season. He attributed the good run of his club to hard work, discipline, focus on set goals. and motivation of players. The chairman thanked the governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, for his immense support to the club. According to Ogunja, “we want the two honours, the Federation Cup and the Super Six. We are up to the task that is why we are where we are today. “On our quarterfinal match with Bendel Insurance, the Benin-based team will ‘swallow a bitter pill’ on Sunday. We are going to give them their first defeat this season,” he said. Ogunja criticised the abridged league system used for the just-ended 2022/2023 NPFL season but commended the standard of officiating which, according to him, has improved significantly.
NOC organises 2-day seminar for sports federations
The Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) said on Wednesday that it would organise a virtual seminar for presidents and leaders of sports federations. A statement issued by Tony Nezianya, the Public Relations Officer of the NOC, said the seminar which focuses on good governance, would hold in Abuja from June 9 to June 10. Nezianya also said that the seminar would be organised under the auspices of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Solidarity programme. He reported the Secretary-General of the NOC, Babatunde Popoola as emphasising the objectives of the seminar to include enhancing effective management and good governance of sports federations. ”It is also to create more integrated sport-specific systems, improve performance and utilisation of resources, as well as leverage or exploit available opportunities to reduce conflicts and reinforce greater harmony in the sports sector. “It is also to enable Sports Federations to function properly.” According to Nezianya, the seminar will be rich in content and delivery as the programme will be anchored by an international expert, Dr Donald Rukare from Uganda and an appointee of the IOC for the seminar. Nezianya also reported NOC President, Habu Gumel as saying that the benefits of the seminar would be measured by how the sports federations use the knowledge gained from the event to effectively run their federations. “We will know if they adhered to the basic principles of good governance.” The key areas to be covered in the seminar are an introduction to Sports Architecture, Leadership and Sports, Key Governance Challenges and Sports Governance. Other key areas to be covered are “Role of Presidents and Secretaries General, Management of NOC/Sports federations, Identifying Types of Sports Disputes and Resolution forums for Sports Disputes.”
WAFU B Championship: Falconets spank Niger Republic 7-0
Nigeria’s under-20 women national team on Sunday in Kumasi whipped their Niger Republic counterparts 7-0 in their opening game at the inaugural West Africa Football Union (WAFU) Zone B Championship. The the match had a lot in stock for spectators at the Baba Yara Stadium when it finally got underway after a one-hour delay. The Falconets completely dominated the game, getting off to a flying start through goals by Opeyemi Ajakaye, Mercy Kalu, Adoabi Okah, Victoria Alani and Chioma Olise. Ajakaye opened scoring four minutes into the game, and went on to double the tally nine minutes later. Kalu scored the third goal in the 30th minute, while Okah made it 4-0 in the 49th minute. Ajakaye scored her third goal for a hat-trick in the 53rd minute when she created space for herself in the penalty box. It was the turn of Alani with the sixth goal in the 64th minute, while substitute Olise headed home a minute into added time of the second half for the seventh goal. The Falconets will face Togo in their second game at 6 p.m on Wednesday, also at the Baba Yara Stadium. Niger Republic will tackle Burkina Faso at 3 p.m. at that same venue. The Falconets will end their group stage campaign by clashing with Burkina Faso on Sunday. The Falconets are drawn in Group B with Niger Republic, Burkina Faso and Togo.
Argentina 2023: Flying Eagles arrive in Mendoza
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles arrived in the city of Mendoza, four days before their opening match of the FIFA U-20 World Cup finals against the Dominican Republic. The team led by Head Coach, Ladan Bosso touched down at Aero Puerto International Airport, Mendoza and was received by NFF’s Head of International Competitions, Dayo Enebi Achor and officials of the Local Organizing Committee of the championship. The Nigeria Football Federation had set up a pre-World Cup training camp for the Flying Eagles in Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina, where the team defeated an Argentine second division team, Almirante and battled out a 3-3 draw with fellow World Cup finalists Colombia in friendlies. Nigeria, who will be making their 13th appearance at the FIFA U20 World Cup finals, open their World Cup campaign in group D against Dominican Republic on 21 May, and will also play Italy and Brazil in that order in the group phase.