Nigerian Football
NFF GENERAL ASSEMBLY HAILS AMAJU PINNICK
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
President of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF continues to get accolades as his profile continues to rise.
From being the head of sports’ governing body of Delta State a little over three years ago, he had risen to become the most noticeable sports administrator in the country.
For this, the NFF General Assembly acknowledged him in a communiqué released on Thursday. It partly reads: “In consideration and appreciation of the numerous on-field (including Nigeria’s qualification for the 2018 World Cup finals with a match to spare) and off-field (including but not limited to numerous sponsorship agreements secured and high reckoning for Nigeria in global football administration) achievements, the General Assembly passed a vote of confidence on the NFF Executive Committee led by Mr. Amaju Melvin Pinnick”.
Amaju took a gamble in seeking to break into a hitherto Mafia-like run Confederation of African Football where many Nigerians since the exit of Amos Adamu had failed.
In taking up the challenge, he added the task of unseating the ancient regime of Issa Hayatou, a task that appeared on the surface a ‘Mission Impossible’.
Not only did he amass the opposition to overthrow the old regime, he emerged as one of the most influential football politicians in the world, getting into powerful committees of FIFA and CAF.
In the domestic front, he changed the face of marketing and sponsorship by bringing in a hitherto relatively unknown AITEO group into limelight through multiple sponsorship windows of the Federation Cup, official partners of the NFF, invitation to FIFA Awards and getting the title sponsorship of CAF Annual Awards.