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WE ‘VE PRESENTED FG WITH LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS TO RECURRING FOOTBALL ADMINISTRATION CRISIS, SAYS PINNICK

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

Nigeria Football Federation president, Amaju Pinnick said that the body has presented to the Nigerian government, plans to avert future crisis within the football body.

In a media release issued on Tuesday which is coincidentally the unacknowledged 85th anniversary of the body, Pinnick revealed that his board had met with the Reconciliation Committee set up by the Sports Ministry and outlined the steps to be taken to conclusively resolve ongoing issues in Nigerian Football,

In addition, “we have presented to the Presidency immediate, short-term and long-term plans for resolving issues in our football, to ensure that the industry not only delivers on its mandate of promoting the game in Nigeria as a key economic factor, but also avoids governance troubles and wrangling in the future”, remarked the NFF president.

While thanking both President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Pinnick acknowledged the role of the statesmen as well as those of the security agencies and official partners and sponsors in the resolution of the logjam.

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He disclosed that the immediate focus of the NFF is on the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, resuming with an away game against Seychelles on September 7 and with home-and-away matches against Libya in October and another away fixture against South Africa in November.

“We will approach the matches one game at a time. Our objective is not only to qualify for the finals, but for the Super Eagles to also make a meaningful impact at the finals in Cameroon in the summer of next year,” stated Pinnick, who is also President of the AFCON Organizing Committee.

He affirmed also that focus is on the upcoming Women Africa Cup of Nations (scheduled for Ghana in November and for which the Super Falcons, reigning champions, have qualified), as well as the 2019 U20 and U17 Africa Cup of Nations championships billed for Niger Republic and Tanzania respectively.

While commending Enyimba FC of Aba and its chairman, NFF Executive Committee Member Felix Anyansi-Agwu for their brilliant outing in Bamako at the weekend that has paved the way for qualification for the quarter finals of the CAF Confederation Cup, Pinnick charged the team not to relent but instead go all out to defeat Club Athletique Renaissance Aiglons of Congo in Aba next week to assure of progress.

 

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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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