Sports
NFF cries out over negative stories
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has called on the support of football stakeholders in the country, warning that sharing negative stories about the Federation is capable of scaring away investors and prospective partners.
This is following a report on an African football website on Saturday that insinuated that global football governing body, FIFA, had stopped a $1.5 million grant to Nigeria after seeing ‘traces of corruption’ in NFF’s management of finance.
The FA, in an article it published several hours later on its official website, called a lie of the report, adding that they have never received such an information from FIFA in their submission that followed the audit query at the backend of last year.
“Nothing could be farther from the truth. We have never received any information from FIFA talking about ‘traces of corruption’ in our submission with regards to the audit query of last year,” NFF wrote.
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“The only information FIFA has provided to the NFF since the audit query is that they are keen to look at performance improvement areas in which FIFA and NFF might jointly work on going forward.
“Amazingly, this same matter affects so many Member Associations in Africa, as a result of the new financial and governance reforms in FIFA. It is only in Nigeria that the issue has been sensationalized beyond normal,” the statement read.
Recall that it was this same African football website that first published the story of NFF shortchanging Super Eagles over the win bonus of the 2018 World Cup qualifying match against Algeria in Uyo – a story that was also quickly denied via a statement by the Spokesperson of the Glass House.
But in an attempt to stop what seems to be a continuous incrimination of the Football body, the FA has pointed that investors and pospective partners of Nigerian football could get a wrong motion.
“The NFF calls on all football stakeholders in the country to support the NFF in its drive to lift the game to a new pedestal, as negative stories and peddling of outright falsehood are capable of scaring away investors and prospective partners,” the statement concluded.
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