Photo Credit: FIFA / Punch NG
FIFA President Infantino Demands Stronger Structures for Nigerian Football
FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, has called for stronger structures and clear development pathways to grow football in Nigeria.

Infantino made the call on Tuesday after meeting a Nigerian delegation led by the Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Shehu Dikko, at the FIFA House in Zurich, Switzerland.

Speaking after the meeting, the FIFA boss said he was pleased to host the delegation to align on a vision for Nigerian football.
“I was pleased to sit down with a delegation from Nigeria, led by National Sports Commission Chairman Shehu Dikko, at the Home of FIFA in Zürich to hold important discussions and align on our vision for football in the country. We had a detailed talk on institutional, governance and developmental topics, as well as our ongoing collaborations,” Infantino said.
He stressed the need to create stronger structures to provide more opportunities for young talents in Nigeria, adding that FIFA is exploring areas where it can further support the growth of the game in the football-passionate country.

The meeting comes at a time Nigeria has commenced major reforms in its football following the mass resignation of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) executive committee and President Bola Tinubu’s directive to address “repeated failures”.

According to the NFF, FIFA has accepted the resignations of its principal officers and will work with the Federal Government, NFF administration and CAF on a new roadmap for comprehensive reforms.

The Nigerian delegation included NSC Chairman Shehu Dikko, NSC Director-General Bukola Olopade, acting NFF General Secretary Emmanuel Ikpeme and NFF Director of Legal Services Okey Obi.

The NFF added that further engagements will be held to fine-tune the reform roadmap for the short, medium and long term to produce an inclusive new administration and ensure stability for the development of the game.