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CONVOCATION OF SUPER EAGLES AS FIFA CLOCKS 114

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

 

Nigeria’s national football team, the Super Eagles are expected to assemble this Monday as preparation for their participation in next month’s World Cup enters its final phase.

The 30 in the provisional list, with the exception of Victor Moses who played with Chelsea in the FA Cup winning outing on Saturday, are expected to assemble at the Le Meridien Hotel and Golf Resort, in Uyo for slightly over a week training before leaving for London to play England in another pre World Cup match.

By the time the team leaves for London, the picture of the seven players to be offloaded will be known.

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Coincidently, the assembly day of Super Eagles’ players in Uyo is FIFA’s 114th anniversary. The football governing body was founded on May 21, 1904 in Paris by delegates from France, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

As the foundation took place in France, the organisation’s name – Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is in French. The headquarters of FIFA was moved from Paris to Zurich in Switzerland in 1932.

Nigeria, was given a provisional admission along with Saudi Arabia and Uganda on April 24, 1959 when the then Executive Committee (now FIFA Council) met.

Nigeria’s provisional admission was conveyed via a May 1, 1959 letter to the then NFA.

  • File copy obtained from FIFA sources notifying Nigeria of the provisional admission in 1959.

The letter to Nigeria signed by FIFA’s assistant secretary stated that the Executive Committee meeting’s decision would have to be ratified by the Congress the following year.

The annual subscription fee payable by Nigeria was given as Swiss Francs 260 which the NFA was to pay by return post to Union Bank of Switzerland in Zurich.

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The provisional admission enabled Nigeria to enter for the football tournament of Rome 1960 Olympics.

When the FIFA Congress held on August 22, 1960, with 69 national associations represented by 153 delegates, Nigeria’s definite affiliation was confirmed and the country became 87th full member of FIFA.

In 1904, the membership stood at seven. It has progressively risen to 150 in 1984 and 211 in 2018. Two Nigerians, Oyo Orok Oyo from 1980 to 1988 and Amos Adamu (2006 to 2012) had been Executive Committee (now FIFA Council) members. The foundation Act of FIFA was signed at Rue Saint Honore 229 in Paris on May 21, 1904.

Rue Saint Honore 229 in Paris, France where FIFA was founded in 1904.

The Foundation document of FIFA in 1904.

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The first Statutes of FIFA in 1904

Two days after foundation, the General Secretary of Union Francaise des Sports Athletiques, Robert Guerin was elected the first president of FIFA. The global football federation since inception has had nine presidents – all except the Belgian-born Brazilian, Joao Havelange, had come from Europe.

Robert Guerin of France, FIFA’s first president in 1904.

Apart from the Guerin, the founding president, the others are: Daniel Burley Woolfall of the United Kingdom, France’ Jules Rimet, Rodolphe Seeldrayers of Belgium, Arthur Drewery (United Kingdom), Stanley Rous of the United Kingdom, Joao Havelange, Sepp Blatter of Switzerland and the Swiss Italian, Gianni Infantino who had been at the helms since February 2016.

However, FIFA had also had acting presidents, the last was Cameroon’s Issa Hayatou in 2016. Before him were Ernst Thommen of Switzerland who acted for 187 days from September 1961. Arthur Drewery of United Kingdom acted for 246 days before being confirmed as president in June 1956, just as Jules Rimet of France did in 1921 before having the longest tenure ever – 33 years and 112 days.

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Sepp Blatter is the only living past president after Joao Havelange died on August 16, 2016 aged 100.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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