The Nigeria Football Federation (known as Nigeria Football Association until 2008) is

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ge ...

. It was formally launched in 1945 and formed the first

Nigerian national football team The Nigeria national football team represents Nigeria in men's international football. Governed by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), they are three-time Africa Cup of Nations winners, with their most recent title in 2013. In April 1994, ...

in 1949. It joined CAF in 1959 and

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

in 1960. The NFF headquarters is located in the city of

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

. As of 2008 it organises three leagues: The

Nigerian Premier League The Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) is the highest level of the Nigerian football league system, for the Nigerian club-football championships. The Nigerian league has suffered, like many others, from the financial impact and dwind ...

, the Amateur League and the Women's League, and five competitions, including the

Federation Cup Federation Cup or Fed Cup is the former name of the premier world team competition in women's tennis. Federation Cup may also refer to: * Capital Football Federation Cup, an Australian territory-based association football tournament *Federation Cup ...

and Women's Cup. The next Election is slated for 2022

Formation dispute

Author and Nigerian football historian Kunle Solaja has found evidence that the Nigerian Football Federation could have been formed in 1933 and not 1945 as previously thought. Solaja cited two ''Nigerian Daily Times articles dated from 21 July and 21 August 1933. The first was an article called titled "Proposed Football Association", the latter was an advert invited people to attend an open meeting.

The FA The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and ...

's Public Affairs Officer David Berber, revealed that the FA held evidence of the Nigerian Football Federation existing before 1945: "I can advise that the name of the Nigeria Football Association first appeared in the ‘FA Handbook’ for the season 1938–1939, in the list of our affiliated associations. The NFA Secretary at that time was F.B Mulford, with a

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

address."

2014 dispute

On the 9th July 2014, upon the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, Nigeria was suspended from

, briefly, According to a statement from FIFA the World soccer’s ruling body had previously sent a letter to the Nigeria Football Federation (FFF) in which it expressed it's concerns after the NFF received court proceedings which hindered it's President from running the African country’s soccer affairs. However Nigeria was back for the

2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup The 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was an international association football tournament and the world championship for women's national teams under the age of 20, presented by Grant Connell, organized by the sport's world governing body FIFA. ...

. In September, another dispute risked leading to Nigeria missing qualifying for 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, but problems were resolved, and Nigeria went on to the 2014 African Women's Championship.

Nigeria Football Federation Bill

A Bill for an Act to repeal the Nigeria Football Association Act and endorse the Nigeria Football Federation Act ("NFF Act") has been passed by the

National Assembly of Nigeria National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

in 2019. It remains for President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 Au ...

’s assent for the Bill to become law.

Reservations on the NFF Bill

The public consensus favors the passage of the Bill, as it is believed will become what Nigeria's Football Federation require to effectively grow football in the country. However, legal opinion queried the constitutionality, based on the

Constitution of Nigeria The Constitution of Nigeria is the written supreme law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Nigeria has had many constitutions. Its current form was enacted on 29 May 1999 and inaugurated the Fourth Nigerian Republic. Nigeria constitution ...

as it regards to sports and sports administration of which the National Assembly has no legislative powers to pass such laws. Further still if the Bill becomes Law by the President's assent, Nigeria Football Federation will become a statutory body which will, therefore, contravene one of the

statutes for their member organizations.

Corruption and Development of the NFF

Corruption is the unlawful enrichment of oneself by the use of one's workplace, whether through bribery, theft, or receipts of compensation for the execution of what should have been one's usual task. Corruption has been the bane of Nigerian public and private life for many years. Corruption has eaten so deeply into the fabric of Nigerian culture that it has been embraced as a way of life, it is an undeniable reality. In Nigeria, corruption has taken on a new sense, with only those who have been caught in the act of theft being labeled as corrupt. Corruption is perpetuated in the sports industry, especially in football, by the awarding of contracts, the hiring of coaches, the use of referees on the field of play, the election of board members, and the selection of players, among other things. Much of this revolves around the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), formerly the Nigerian Football Association (NFA), which is a federal government body under the sports ministry tasked with the creation of football in Nigeria. According to stakeholders in the football industry, corruption has wreaked havoc on the advancement of the sport in Nigeria. It has been so pervasive that former Nigerian Senate President

David Mark David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark , is a retired Nigerian Army Brigadier General and politician. He was President of the Senate of Nigeria from 2007 to 2015 and was the Senator for Benue South Senatorial District Benue State. He is a member of th ...

described the Nigeria Football Federation as the most corrupt government agency in the country during one of house's sittings in 2013. No one knows exactly when football began in Nigeria, but one thing is certain: Nigerians began playing the game for fun and relaxation long before the Nigeria Football Association was established (NFA). It is commonly thought that former British colonial masters introduced football to

as early as 1914, after Lord Lugard's amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria.

Presidents

* Pa Mulford (1945–1947) *

Pius Quist Pius ( , ) Latin for "pious", is a masculine given name. Its feminine form is Pia. It may refer to: People Popes * Pope Pius (disambiguation) * Antipope Pius XIII (1918-2009), who led the breakaway True Catholic Church sect Given name * Pius ...

(Anthony) (1947–1948) * D.H. Holley (1949–1950) * P. Harvey (1951–1953) *

N. Miller N is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet. N or n may also refer to: Mathematics * \mathbb, the set of natural numbers * N, the field norm * N for ''nullae'', a rare Roman numeral for zero * n, the size of a statistical sample Sci ...

(1954–1956) *

Dennis J. Slattery Dennis or Denis is a first or last name from the Greco-Roman name Dionysius, via one of the Saint Dionysius (disambiguation), Christian saints named Dionysius. The name came from Dionysus, the Classical mythology, Greek god of ecstatic states, ...

(1957–1958) * R.B. Allen (1959–1960) *

Godfrey Amachree Godfrey may refer to: People * Godfrey (name), a given name and surname * Godfrey (comedian), American comedian, actor Places In the United States * Godfrey, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Godfrey, Illinois, a village * Godfrey, Kansas, a ...

(1960–1961) * F.A.S. Ogunmuyiwa (1961–1962) *

Louis Edet May Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

(1962–1963) *

M.S. Adawale A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

(Acting) (1963–1963) * A.B. Osula (Acting) (1963–1963) *

Francis Giwa-Osagie Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Francis (surname) Places * Rural ...

(1964–1964) * Ishola Bajulaiye (1965–1965) * Chuba Ikpeazu (1965–1967) *

(1967–1970) * Kevin Lawson(Col.) (1971–1971) * Edwin Kentebbe(Comdr.) (1971–1972) * Ademola Adeoba(Acting) (1972–1972) *

Emmanuel Sotomi Immanuel ( he, עִמָּנוּאֵל, 'Īmmānū'ēl, meaning, "God is with us"; also romanized: , ; and or in Koine Greek of the New Testament) is a Hebrew name that appears in the Book of Isaiah (7:14) as a sign that God will protect the H ...

(Brig.) (1973–1973) *

Sunday Dankaro Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In most Western countries, Sunday is a day of rest and a part of the weekend. It is often considered the first day of the week. For most observant adherents of Christianity, Sunday i ...

(1974–1980) *

Mike Okwechime Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

(Col.) (1981 – May 1982) * Edwin Kentebbe(Comdr.) 1982–1983 * Tony Ikazoboh (1983–1987) * John Obakpolor (1987–1988) * Chuba Ikpeazu (1988–1989) * Efiom Okon (Interim) (1989) * Tony Ikazoboh (1989) * Yusuf Ali (1990–1991) * Efiom Okon (1991–1992) *

Amos Adamu Amos Adamu (born 31 December 1952) is a Nigerian sports administrator, he was Director General of the Nigerian National Sports Commission for ten years before being redeployed in November 2008. Before his appointment as Director General, Adamu wa ...

(1992–1993) *

Emeka Omeruah Samson Emeka Omeruah (14 August 1943 – 4 December 2006) was an air commodore of the Nigerian Air Force,Abdulmumini Aminu Abdulmumini Aminu (born 1949) is a retired Nigerian army colonel, he was military governor of Borno State between August 1985 and August 1988 during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. He later became chairman of the Nigeria Footba ...

(1997–1999) * Kojo Williams (1999) *

Dominic Oneya Dominic Obukadata Oneya (26 May 1948 – 4 August 2021) was Administrator of Kano State, Nigeria from August 1996 to August 1998 during the military regime of General Sani Abacha, then Administrator of Benue State from August 1998 to May 1999 du ...

(1999–2002) * Ibrahim Galadima (2002–2006) * Sani Lulu (2006–2010) *

Aminu Maigari Aminu Maigari is a Nigerian football administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, o ...

(2010–2014) * Amaju Pinnick (2014‒2022) *

Ibrahim M. Gusau Ibrahim Musa Gusau (born 1 March 1964) is a Nigerian sports administrator, who has served as president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) since 2022. He is a former chairman of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), a former Chairman ...

(2022‒) * Uko U. Moffat

Competitions

Current title holders

References

External links

Official site
(archived, 12 Mar 2021) *

at the FIFA website.
Nigeria
at CAF Online {{National Members of the Confederation of African Football

Football in Nigeria

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

Sports organizations established in 1945 Women's sports governing bodies in Nigeria