State Football Association chairmen in Nigeria have rejected claims of a crisis in the country’s football administration, insisting that the leadership gap at the Nigeria Football Federation can be resolved through the federation’s existing structures.
Gombe State FA Chairman Yakubu Sarma made the position known on Monday evening in Abuja after a closed door meeting with officials from FIFA and the Confederation of African Football.
The discussions followed the resignation of former NFF President Ibrahim Gusau and other members of the federation’s board, which left a leadership vacuum at the organisation.
Sarma, who led the delegation of state FA chairmen, said the leadership situation should not be mistaken for a wider crisis in Nigerian football.
According to him, domestic leagues remain active, Nigerian clubs are competing in continental competitions, the women’s teams continue to participate in international matches, and the NFF secretariat remains operational.
He expressed appreciation to FIFA and CAF for visiting Nigeria to engage stakeholders and assess the situation directly.
While acknowledging the vacant leadership positions, the state FA chairmen argued that the statutes of the NFF, FIFA and CAF already provide mechanisms for addressing such situations without external intervention.
Sarma also clarified that the state FAs are not opposed to the reform programme being promoted by the National Sports Commission. He said the NFF had already incorporated about 67 per cent of the 54 proposed reform measures through recent amendments to its statutes.
The main disagreement, he explained, concerns how the reforms and the leadership transition should be handled.
The state FA chairmen are opposed to the establishment of a FIFA appointed Normalisation Committee and instead favour a caretaker or interim committee selected through the NFF Congress.
Sarma maintained that Nigerian football stakeholders should work within the established framework to resolve the situation rather than seek an external solution.
The meetings in Abuja form part of FIFA and CAF’s consultations with key Nigerian football stakeholders, including state FA representatives, players and members of the electoral committee, as international football authorities assess the federation’s governance situation and the way forward.
