Stakeholders Demand Dissolution Of NFF Board

Football stakeholders in Ebonyi, have called for the immediate dissolution of the present board of the Nigeria Football Federation.

The call came in the wake of the National U-23 team’s imminent elimination from next year’s Olympics Games, after losing 1-2 to Senegal on Tuesday, in the qualifiers in Morocco.

In addition to the call for the mass resignation of the NFF board, the stakeholders also advocated for a comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s football structure to arrest the current drift.

The Tidesports reports that the U-23 team had earlier lost its opening match in the qualifiers by 1-0 to host Morocco and needed to win its match against the Senegalese team to stand a chance of making it into the semi-finals of the tournament.

But with the 2-1 loss it suffered at the hands of the Senegalese, its chances of qualifying for the semi-finals, much less the Olympics Games, now hangs on a precarious thread of hope.

One of such concerned fans, Nicodemus Omenka, a former Commissioner for Youths and Sports in Ebonyi, noted that the present NFA board had brought the nation’s football to its lowest ebb ever.

“The country had not witnessed such inept football administration in its entire history as the current board is made up of self-seeking individuals who have no inkling on how to develop the game.

“This time around, the ineptitude of the team and the mediocre nature of football administration, was bared for all to see, unlike in the past when we would have attributed the blame for the loss on poor officiating by the match officials.

“We now have a Technical Committee, whose head was more concerned about inconsequential things to the detriment of our football,” he said.

Sule Mohammed, Coach of Ebonyi United, winners of the state’s 2011 Federation Cup, told NAN that the recent decline in the nation’s football had in a way vindicated President Goodluck Jonathan’s decision to withdraw the country from all international football commitment.

“We have now seen the foresight the president had in taking the decision in 2010, as he saw the level of corruption and ineptitude in the management of the nation’s soccer and wanted to sanitise it.

“The President should take the decision again to revamp our football,” he said.

Meanwhile, Oluchi Enenwali, a staff of Ebonyi Ministry of Youths and Sports, has called for the prosecution of the politicians who imposed the Aminu Miagari-led board on Nigerians.

“It is clear that Maigari and his team have no pedigree in football administration, as they were appointed to achieve cheap political patronage.

“Their predecessors qualified for major competitions but these people cannot pass the simple test of adequately preparing teams; much less qualifying for competitions.

“The country will only get a sound set of football administrators only if it adheres to the rules and regulations pertaining to electoral matters, to guard against the foisting of mediocre individuals on football administration in the country,” she said.