President Bola Tinubu has directed a comprehensive reform of Nigerian football following a shake-up in the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday, saying the reform was necessary to address Nigeria’s repeated failures to qualify for major regional, continental and global tournaments.
“The reform must respond to a longstanding need to strengthen governance, administration, stakeholder representation, development pathways, domestic competitions and accountability across Nigerian football,” Tinubu was quoted as saying.
The President said that while other sports had recorded meaningful progress following the reset of the sector under the re-established National Sports Commission (NSC), football had continued to struggle because of structural weaknesses within the system.
“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,” he said.
Tinubu said Nigerian football must begin to match the country’s abundance of talent, passion and resources with stronger institutions, better administration and sustained performance.
He directed the Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko, to work with the NFF Secretariat and relevant football stakeholders to ensure continuity in essential football administration while facilitating a broad and consultative reform process.
The President said the process should include appropriate engagement with FIFA and CAF while ensuring that Nigeria continues to meet its obligations within the international football framework.
He also called on football stakeholders and Nigerians to support the transition and work collectively towards building a stronger, more accountable and successful football system.
The directive came hours after NFF President Ibrahim Gusau resigned from office.
Gusau said he decided to step down to give other Nigerians an opportunity to contribute to the development of football in the country.
Defending his tenure, Gusau said that despite the failure of the Super Eagles and Super Falcons to qualify for major World Cup competitions, he was leaving the federation in a stronger position than he found it.
The NFF has faced mounting criticism following a series of disappointing results involving Nigeria’s national teams.
The Super Falcons recently suffered a major setback by failing to qualify for the Women’s World Cup, ending their run of appearances at every edition of the tournament since its inception in 1991.
Nigeria’s women’s team also failed to reach the semi-finals of the competition after losing to Cameroon.
The Super Eagles, meanwhile, were also absent from the men’s World Cup earlier this year, adding to concerns over the state of Nigerian football and the effectiveness of its football administration.
Tinubu’s directive now sets the stage for a broader overhaul of the structures governing the country’s most popular sport, with the government signalling a renewed focus on governance, development, accountability and international competitiveness.
