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VIDEO: FIFA BOSS AFFIRMS AMAJU PINNICK AS NFF PRESIDENT, NIGERIA RISKS BAN

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

 

Once again, world football governing body, FIFA has made its stand clear on the situations surrounding the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF.

FIFA President, Gianni Infantino at press conference in Moscow provided the insight into FIFA’s stand while answering questions posed by Nigerian journalist, Remi Sulola of The Cable.ng.

“The Nigeria Football Federation has a president and his name is Amaju Pinnick. He has been elected. We have been very clear about that sometime ago.

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“I learnt the issue has come up again. The situation is very clear. We have statues, we have regulations. It’s very clear. That can be no interference in the running of the associations.

“…Pinnick is working here (World Cup in Moscow) in official capacity…he is the president, he is the president for FIFA, the president elected by the members of the Nigeria Football Association (Federation).

“And that is the end of the story. If any other external body feels it can change the story and Nigeria risks to be banned like it happened in the other countries.

“We have processes, democratic processes that need to be respected. It is very clear and simple case as far as we are concerned. We have stated this before”, said the FIFA president.

A FIFA ban on Nigeria will invoke the principle of prohibited contacts as stated in Art. 79 of the FIFA Statutes.

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In that wise, the Falconets will forfeit their ticket to the FIFA U-20 World Cup in France next month while the September fixtures of the Super Eagles in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations shall be forfeited apart from Enyimba being thrown out of CAF Confederations Cup.

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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