FIFA suspends Nigeria Football Federation due to government interference

FIFA suspends Nigeria Football Federation due to government interference

2010-10-04 23:27:45 GMT+7 (ICT)

ZURICH, SWITZERLAND (BNO NEWS) – FIFA, the International Federation of Association Football, on Monday announced that it has suspended the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) due to government interference.

The ban was imposed by the FIFA Emergency Committee and has immediate effect. The suspension will be in place until, FIFA said, the duly elected NFF Executive Committee is able to work without interference by the Nigerian government.

In Nigeria, court actions against elected members of the NFF Executive Committee are preventing them to exercise their functions and duties. As a result, the NFF has suffered two major blows to the organization.

Firstly, the acting NFF General Secretary on the instruction of the National Sports Commission stepped down due to government interference. Then, the Minister of Sports decided to start the Nigerian League without relegation form the previous season.

The ban by FIFA prohibits Nigeria from being represented in any regional, continental or international competition, either at club level or national representations. In addition, neither the NFF nor any of its members can benefit from any development program, course or training from FIFA or the CAF (African Confederation of Football).

Last June, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan suspended the Nigerian national football team from any international competitions for the next two years after a disappointing World Cup participation. The Nigerian team did not win a single game and earned only one point in the first round of the tournament.

However, such ban can only be imposed by the NFF, CAF or FIFA and never due to poor performance. President Jonathan also ordered a financial audit of the World Cup project to investigate any misuse of funds and any wrongdoing related to the project.

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