Sports
Court Declares NFF, NPL Illegal
Nigerian football has been thrown into turmoil after a Federal High Court in Abuja dissolved the football federation (NFF) and Premier League (NPL).
Sam Sam Jaja, a former Nigeria Referees Association (NRA) president, went to court to challenge his disqualification to run in NPL elections two years ago.
In his motion, Jaja wanted the court to determine the NFF and NPL’s legality in line with Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution.
Judge Okorowo declared neither the NFF nor NPL had any statutory recognition.
He also declared the electoral body had inflicted an injury on the plaintiff, Jaja, by unlawfully disqualifying him.
Having gone through the submissions, Okorowo also contended that it is only the Nigeria Football League Limited (NFL) and the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) that have the legal authority to operate in the country.
“As recognised by the National Assembly act of 1999, the NFA is the legal body that is saddled with the responsibility of handling football matters in the country with other affiliate bodies recognised by it,” said the ruling.
“It is very obvious that the NFA domiciled in Nigeria can only operate under the Nigerian law. FIFA is a corporate body registered under the Swiss law, which has no powers over the laws of Nigeria.
“Therefore the names NPL and NFF are illegal before the law, since there is no statutes recognising their existence in the country.
“The court therefore submits that if any of these bodies continue to transact business under a name that is not recognised by law, they are doing such at its own risk.”
Lawyer to the plaintiff, Phil Oguchukwu, was directed to file contempt proceedings against the NFF and the NPL if both bodies continue to operate after Okorowo’s ruling on Friday.
Reacting to the ruling, the Nigeria Football Federation said in a press statement that they have yet to receive a copy of the judgement.
“We have not seen a copy of the judgement apart from the chat we had with our lawyer,” stated NFF secretary-general Musa Amadu.
“By the time we get a copy of the judgement on Monday, we will be able to react fully. As for now, the business of running Nigeria football is unaffected, as we have 90 days to appeal any judgement, during which the status quo, legally, remains.”
Nigeria’s Super Eagles are trying to revive their flagging fortunes after their failure to qualify for this month’s African Cup of Nations.
But court cases, infighting and government interference in the administration of the NFF have overshadowed plans to revitalise football in the country.
FIFA had initially imposed a ban for what it called “government interference” in the running of Nigerian football in the wake of the national side’s early exit from the World Cup.
But it lifted the ban provisionally after some steps were taken, notably allowing the country to play a 2012 Nations Cup qualifier in Guinea.
FIFA rules prohibit any government intervention with its members.
Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, in Rivers State, will be at the centre stage on Wednesday as the VC Cup final, both male and female categories will be played at the prestigious Stadium in the school.
The both final matches promises to be exciting, as arrangements have been concluded to watch one of the best VC football Cup finals in the history.
VC Cup tournament is an annual sporting event that involves all students in various facilities.
According to the Chief coach of the University football team, David Egbiri, the female will final will kick off 2pm between faculty of Human Kinetics and Management Sciences, while the male will kick off by 4pm between Social Science and Natural Applied Science
Egbiri, who was former coach of Abiola Babe FC and Concord FC, lauded the Vice Chancellor. Prof. Okechukwu Onuchukwu for releasing funds on sports development, saying that he has never also failed the School in terms of infrastructural development.
“The VC who is also a sports personality has not failed to release funds for this tournament, apart from that he has not also disappointed in terms of developing the school in all ramifications.
“I want to say that my major reason for accepting to coach the school football team is to develop the youth through sports”, Coach Egbiri said.
The former Eagle Cement Coach, explained that he was not encouraged the way and manner the young ones are going about sports because there is no discipline and so much quest for quick money.
” Honestly, the way young players are looking money was just too much. Looking for short cuts always to make money that is more reason some of them don’t go far and end up badly
” In our days we first of all think about how to make name and we are passionate about it. I went to school and saw myself in sports, while my initial intention was to read electrical engineering” he stated.
Tonye Orabere
The Delta State Sports Commission has come under scrutiny following the state’s disappointing performance at the just-concluded National Youth Games (NYG) in Asaba, where Lagos dethroned Delta to clinch top spot.
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, visibly displeased with both the poor outing of Team Delta and the organizational lapses witnessed during the Games, summoned an emergency meeting with the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) immediately after the closing ceremony.
Delta, which had dominated the NYG by finishing first in the last eight editions, only managed second place this time — a result the governor described as “totally unacceptable,” especially given the state’s significant investment in the event.
According to a reliable source privy to the meeting, Governor Oborevwori expressed deep disappointment, stressing that his administration had provided all necessary support to the Sports Commission and the LOC to ensure Delta retained its traditional top position.
In a decisive move, the governor demoted his Executive Assistant on Sports and former Director-General of the Sports Commission, Festus Owhojero, under whose leadership the Games were organized. Owhojero was reassigned from Executive Assistant (EA) to Senior Special Assistant (SSA) with immediate effect.
The governor’s action, our source revealed, reflects his zero-tolerance stance on incompetence and underperformance within his administration. Mr. Owhojero thus becomes the first high-profile casualty of the governor’s resolve to reposition sports in Delta State.
Furthermore, Oborevwori directed the Sports Commission and LOC officials to submit a detailed report on the Games, outlining what went wrong and providing recommendations for improvement. The governor emphasized the need for urgent reforms to restore Delta’s dominance, especially as the state is set to host the next edition of the Games under an existing memorandum of understanding (MoU).
The Nigeria Football Federation has distanced itself from a post-match statement that criticised some Super Eagles players following the team’s 1-1 draw with South Africa in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
The statement, issued by the NFF’s Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire, singled out forward Cyriel Dessers and captain William Troost-Ekong for criticism.
It accused Dessers of being sluggish and faulted Ekong for the own goal that gave Bafana Bafana the lead.
However, NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, said on Wednesday that the statement did not represent the official position of the Federation.
“I saw the release just like everyone else did. Nobody in the Federation is happy with it,” Sanusi said.
“The NFF did not authorise that statement. We have great respect for all the players. Blaming an individual for a team result is unfair.”
He added that the Federation regards the South Africa match as a collective effort and will not support attempts to scapegoat any player.
“When we win, it’s a team victory. When we lose, it’s also collective. No player should be singled out,” Sanusi said.
He described the targeted criticism of Troost-Ekong as unjustified, noting that the defender had previously been celebrated as the Most Valuable Player at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire.
“It was an unfortunate own goal. His intention was to clear the ball. Anyone who knows football understands that such things happen,” he said..
Sanusi also expressed confidence in the team’s unity, revealing that efforts were ongoing to regroup and refocus ahead of the remaining qualifiers and AFCON.
“Our house is in order. We’re preparing for the rest of the qualifiers and the AFCON in Morocco,” he said.
“There’s no problem with our players or coaching crew. Our relationship remains cordial. The government and the NFF are proud of the players’ efforts.”
The Federation had initially praised Calvin Bassey for his equalising goal and lamented the team’s failure to convert second-half chances.
But Sanusi made it clear that internal disciplinary action would be taken over the unauthorised release.
“I can assure you the NFF will take action on the matter,” he said.
Nigeria currently sit third in Group C of the CAF World Cup qualifiers with 11 points from eight matches. South Africa lead the group with 17 points.
The Super Eagles must now win their remaining games against Lesotho and Benin Republic and hope other results go their way to secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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