World football governing body, Fifa, has handed Nigeria “a last opportunity” until Friday mid-day to avoid immediate suspension from international competitions and activities in the sport.
The African champions could face a seven-month suspension if the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) executive committee, presided over by Amaju Pinnick, sacked by a Federal High Court ruling last Thursday week, continues to have its activities interfered with.
Fifa in response to a letter from the NFF, said: “interference (in the activities of the football federation) has not ceased” alluding to the use of security operatives to stop Pinnick from travelling to Namibia for the African Women Championship (AWC) final between Nigeria and Cameroon.
“As stated in our previous letters dated 9 September 2014 and 2 October 2014, Fifa stressed that should the electoral process and the instalment of the newly elected NFF board be affected by any interference, the case would be brought to the attention of the appropriate Fifa bodies for a suspension of the NFF until the next Fifa Congress due to take place on 28 and 29 May 2015. The course of events as described in your correspondence clearly shows that interference has not ceased.
“Under these circumstances and in order to give Nigeria football a last opportunity to avoid a lengthy suspension, we inform you that if by midday October 31 Nigerian time we have not received proof that the case has definitively being withdrawn from court and that the board elected on September 30 2014 is able to carry out its activities without any hindrance, we will refer the case to the Fifa Emergency Committee for the implementation of suspension.
“We would like to underline the dire effects that a suspension will have on Nigeria football. It will for instance mean that no team from Nigeria of any sort (including club teams) can have any international sporting contact,” Fifa warned in its letter sent to the NFF today.
Nigeria is currently the champion in the Afcon and in the AWC for men and women’s football on the continental, and now face missing out of defending the Afcon next January in Morocco. [myad]
