The Task Before NFF’s General Assembly in Asaba Today

Duro Ikhazuagbe

The 2024 Annual General Assembly of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) scheduled to hold today in Asaba, Delta State, is likely to decide wether Nigeria will miss a second, consecutive FIFA World Cup after the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the last edition in Qatar.

This Congress, in the Delta State capital, is the highest decision making body for the game in the country and will largely share in the blame for any wrong decision it takes today that may lead to Nigeria missing the Mundial in the country were the Super Eagles earned their debut in 1994. The USA will jointly host the 2026 World Cup with Canada and Mexico.

Eagles are presently precariously sitting fifth on three miserable points from a possible 12. Rwanda, South Africa and Benin Republic are the leading countries in Group C on seven points each, only separated by goals difference. Lesotho are fifth on five points from same four matches. Zimbabwe on two points in sixth place are the only team that Nigeria are ahead of in the race where only the winner will get the automatic ticket to the 2026 World Cup. The runners up will face the lottery of potentially competing in the second round to advance to the inter-confederation play-offs where there is no certainty of progressing.

This is the stark reality that faces this Congress today as this assemblage of football administrators and stakeholders in a given year meet to deliberate on the way forward for the game in the country. It is also the duty of this August body that serves as the melting pot of interplay of ideas and eventual formulation of policies and rules and regulations that govern the administration and organization of the game nationally for the succeeding one year, to take the right decision.

Since the expiration of the contract of Portuguese gaffer, Jose Santos Peseiro, the NFF under the watch of Ibrahim Musa Gusau, appears bereft of ideas on what to do. Gusau’s NFF has experimented with the choice of Finidi George as Eagles Supremo. That ended after just two games with poor results. Then Augustine Eguavoen came in for his fourth ‘Missionary Journey’ in-charge of the team. Of course, he was pronounced as coming on interim basis. After the Benin Republic and Rwandan Games in the AFCON 2025 qualifiers, NFF has asked him to stay on the job without a contract.

But Eguavoen, who in his three previous appointments never stayed more than six months in each outing, appears not ready to take the blame should Eagles fail to make the cut to the 2026 Mundial. Just early this week, he told Brila FM the conditions that will make him accept the offer as substantive Eagles boss.

“The Super Eagles job I’m doing right now, if I were to switch permanently, it’s something I’d need to sit down, reflect, and think deeply about because it’s not a small job,” the NFF Technical Director told Brila FM.

He admitted that as a tough job, he needs a long term contract with clauses stating he was not going to be sacked should Eagles fail to win crucial games.

”It will be a tough one. You have to give me a long-term contract with patience and clauses in that contract because winning is not guaranteed every week or day. You will give me time to tweak the team till I find what I want,” Eguavoen stressed.

What this Congress should be asking Gusau and his board members today is what is so difficult in appointing a replacement for Peseiro since March when the contract expired? Why announce the deal with German Bruno Labbadia when the contract was not properly tidied up only for him to embarrass Nigeria with his rejection of the offer? If Eguavoen is now the choice of the Gusau board, what is causing the delay in negotiating a proper contract for the ex-international for him to settle down to the job?

As reported in THISDAY this week, it is now clear that the Gusau-led board has concluded the move to grant the General Secretary of the NFF, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, a third term tenure of three years at this Congress. Is that the proper and fit thing to do in line with the unwritten agreement of football stakeholders in the country for both the President and the General Secretary to come from the same zone? The President is from Zamfara, while the GS, whose 11th year as head of the secretariat ends in December, is from Kebbi State.

As the General Assembly welcomes the chairmen and secretaries of Football Associations in the 36 states and the FCT, chairmen and secretaries of the Nigeria Premier Football League, Nigeria National League, Nigeria Women Football League and the Nationwide League One, as well as chairmen and secretaries of the referees’ association, players’ union, coaches’ association and past presidents and general secretaries of the NFF to Asaba today, let them be guided by what is in the interest of the millions of Nigerians who are bounded by their love for the Super Eagles and other national teams. After Super Eagles missed Qatar 2022, Nigeria just cannot afford to miss back-to-back another World Cup in 2026.