By George Mgbeleke<\/p>\n
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called for the immediate resignation of the current leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), saying Nigerian football can no longer afford the continued dominance of politicians and opportunists in football administration.<\/p>\n
HURIWA in a atatement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko said the time has come for fresh, competent and experienced football professionals to take charge of the nation’s football and rescue the game from years of poor leadership, corruption and political interference.<\/p>\n
The association particularly called for an NFF leadership structure that gives prominent former professional footballers and respected football administrators a central role.
\nHURIWA cited personalities such as Michael Emenalo, former technical adviser of Chelsea FC; Austin \u201cJay Jay\u201d Okocha, former Super Eagles captain; Segun Odegbami, former Green Eagles captain; and Ahmed Musa, former Super Eagles captain, among other respected football professionals.
\nThe association urged the National Sports Commission (NSC) to declare a state of emergency in Nigerian football and work with FIFA to establish a credible framework that ensures only tested, trusted and competent football professionals are allowed to play leading roles in the administration of Nigerian football.
\nHURIWA said Nigeria’s football crisis is now too serious to be treated as business as usual.
\nThe failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for two successive World Cups, alongside Nigeria’s expected absence from the 2027 Women’s World Cup, according to the association, shows that Nigerian football is facing an existential crisis.
\n\u201cThis is no longer just about missing football tournaments. It is about the gradual destruction of a national institution that has given Nigerians pride, unity and happiness for generations,\u201d HURIWA said.
\nThe association said the recent intervention by former Super Eagles captain Austin \u201cJay Jay\u201d Okocha, who called for fresh thinking and a new structure in Nigerian football, should be taken seriously by the government and all stakeholders.
\nHURIWA noted that previous attempts at reform have produced recommendations that were either ignored or poorly implemented.
\nIt therefore warned that merely setting up another committee or normalisation arrangement without changing the fundamental structure of football administration would amount to another waste of time.
\nHURIWA called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to support the widespread demand for comprehensive reforms in the NFF and ensure that football administration is placed in the hands of people with the competence, experience and integrity to develop the game.
\nThe association also called for greater transparency and accountability in the management of football resources and the implementation of policies that will develop grassroots football, strengthen the national teams and restore Nigeria’s place among the world’s leading football nations.
\nHURIWA said politicians have no business controlling the technical direction of Nigerian football when the country has produced world-class footballers and administrators capable of providing better leadership.
\nWe cannot continue to put the future of Nigerian football in the hands of people who have little or no professional football experience. Nigeria has the talents, the resources and the football history. What is missing is competent and accountable leadership.
\nThe current NFF leadership should honourably resign and allow fresh minds to take over. This is not a witch-hunt. It is a demand for accountability and a desperate call to save Nigerian football from extinction.\u201d
\nHURIWA urged former internationals, coaches, players, football administrators, supporters and all Nigerians to join the campaign for fundamental reforms in Nigerian football.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Mgbeleke The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called for the immediate resignation of the current leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), saying Nigerian football can no longer afford the continued dominance of politicians and opportunists in football administration. HURIWA in a atatement by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16897,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16926"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16926\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16927,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16926\/revisions\/16927"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}