Sports Minister, NFF Leadership Meet For Sports Dev

The Honourable Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh, on Wednesday, held a strategic meeting with the leadership of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, as part of his series of engagements with all sports federations in the nation.
The engagements with leadership of all sports federations are part of the Minister’s efforts to appraise the state of sports in the country, so as to drive a common vision of development, resuscitate, rejuvenate and reinvigorate areas that are not in tandem with its mission.
The Minister said that the Ministry will not run football or any other sports on behalf of the federations, but instead it has a responsibility to play oversight functions and ensure the best interest of the nation is represented in the operations and activities of federations.
He added that the followership, interest, popularity and excitement that football generates around the country, necessitates why careful and intentional actions must be taken for the growth of the game.
“We must be open to dissecting some of the burning issues in our football,” Senator Enoh said. “This is what this meeting is about. Where are we as a footballing nation? What are our prospects? What are the plans? This sector is one where everyone is interested and wants to know what is going on. We should address topical and trending issues such as the 10 year football master plan implementation, membership of the executive board of the NFF, the image of our league, amongst other issues. We must look at global best practices obtainable in thriving nations.
Senator Enoh remarked that all hands must be on deck for development to be fostered. He sued for all facets of NFF’s operations to thrive, including but not limited to coaches and players’ education, referees’ development, league management, national teams’ success governance statutes, etc.
“What is the development plan for the League, the players and referees? There are discussions surrounding the legislation under which the NFF operates. What needs to be done to that law to create the right consonance? What are the timelines for the implementation of the masterplan? Our overarching goal is that after these engagements, we will draw out action points that are contributive to the growth of Nigerian football,” he noted.