FIFA’s non interference policy and the future of Nigerian football

THERE is enough evidence to empirically establish that Nigerian football is in disarray. For the first time since 1986, Nigeria has failed to qualify for the African Nations Cup finals.

As if this is not enough, two of the nation’s Olympic soccer teams, the Under 23 National Team and the Super Falcons, have also failed to make it through the qualifiers to next year’s London Olympic Games. The Super Eagles had much earlier suffered first-round elimination at South Africa 2010.

It is instructive to note that the dismal and disappointing results posted by the Nigerian national soccer teams in recent times is a clear testimonial of a failing soccer-governing body in the country.

The argument has been quite polemical in many circles that the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) is to blame for the current woes in the country’s football. In many instances, the top NFF officials had been variously accused of imposing players on national team coaches to play matches, sometimes forcing the team handlers to leave out the best available players they need to succeed.

Relatedly, there is also the case of some influential old players in the Super Eagles using their fat match allowances and bonuses to settle some prominent NFF officials, who always influence their inclusion in the team whether they are in good form or not.

A case in point involves the former Super Eagles Swedish coach Lars Lagerback, who later confessed that the NFF officials forced players on him to take to the last World Cup. He said players like Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Danny Shittu and Kanu Nwankwo were not in his original Mundial plans.

Is it therefore surprising that Yakubu Aiyegbeni was  the first Super Eagles player to demand for the sack of Samson Siasia as the Eagles coach?

Many analysts have also indicted the Federation of International Football Associations, FIFA, as contributing to the almost stalemate state of soccer development in Nigeria. They cited FIFA’s rule of non-interference which offers protection to local associations from government interference, even where such associations have performed badly.

While FIFA has good intentions for enunciating this policy of non-interference by governments of the various member nations in the direct running of football, it would seem that this administrative policy has become a license in itself for impunity, administrative maladroitness, corruption, self-aggrandizement and diversion of funds by football managers in Nigeria. This is a major source of concern.

For example, in the last decade alone, FIFA has provided grants amounting to N375 million to the Nigerian soccer authorities to develop the game, through grassroots football competitions and academicals to identify and groom budding talents. Lamentably, these funds end up in the deep pockets of the NFF officials and make them richer to the detriment of the game.

Quite pertinent too is the case of the over N900million the Federal Government appropriated for the NFF to prosecute the Super Eagles World Cup campaign in South Africa last year. It must be recalled that following the premature exit of Nigeria from the tournament, the NFF was requested to give an account of how the funds were spent.

Not satisfied with the account given, as almost N300million could not be justifiably accounted for, the President Goodluck Jonathan Administration made a move for a three years’ moratorium on international football for the country.

The Presidency was particularly infuriated by the fact that out of the purported 220-man Federal Government delegation that went to South Africa 2010, only 47 were approved by government – this number includes team officials, government representatives and the Super Eagles players. The rest 173 were personal friends and relations of NFF officials, who also benefited from estacodes amounting to $800,000.

Instead of erecting structures to raise the future Maradonas and Peles with the funds at its disposal, what the NFF has been doing is to hire and fire coaches to make huge capital for themselves. Samson Siasia is one of the latest victims of this hire and sack syndrome in Nigerian football administration.

In sacking Siasia, the NFF seems to have forgotten so soon how he groomed stars like John Mikel Obi, Taye Taiwo to international limelight at Holland 2005 and at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in which Nigeria won the silver medal respectively on both occasions.

They have also forgotten so soon how Siasia ended the Argentines’ unbeaten record against Nigeria at the senior level when the Siasia-tutored Eagles routed the Argies 4-1 at the National Stadium in Abuja.

With the chain of failures steadily rolled out byvirtually all the national teams, which had been blamed on poor socceradministration, sacking Siasia is clearly kilometres off the solution to the problem at hand.

*Mr. Dennis, a public affairs  analyst, wrote from Lagos.