Nigeria Faces Another FIFA Ban

Following the ongoing  internal crisis in the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, the World football-governing body, FIFA may ban the country from participating in all its football related activities.
According to latest reports, FIFA has handed the Chris Giwa faction of the NFF a deadline till “midnight on Monday, 1 September 2014″ to vacate the Glass House secretariat.
It would be recalled that a faction of the NFF elected Christopher Giwa, who is the chairman of the Nigeria Professional League club side Giwa Football Club, as the president of the Nigerian football house on Tuesday, 26 August, 2014.
Reports stated that only 29 members of the supposed 44 expected elective members participated in the election.
It was gathered that FIFA sent a letter to the NFF general secretary, Musa Amadu, on Friday, 29 August, 2014 where it stated that it “will not recognise the outcome” of the elections that brought Giwa and his executive committee into office.
According to the content of the letter signed by Jerome Valcke, FIFA’s secretary general,  FIFA made it clear that it will sanction the NFF and that includes suspending it from every international football events and activities.
“We understand from the sequence of events that the general assembly duly convened by the NFF Executive Committee could not start as planned because some NFF members, including the president, were being held by security forces for questioning.
“Finally, we have learnt that the persons who claim to have been duly elected during the so-called ‘elective general assembly’ have come to the NFF offices claiming to be the legitimate president and members of the NFF. It also appears the Ministry of Sports has recognised them.
“As a consequence, we will not recognise the outcome of the above mentioned elections and should there still be persons claiming to have been elected and occupying the NFF offices at midnight Monday 1 September 2014, we will bring the case to the appropriate Fifa body for sanctions, which may include suspension of the NFF,” the letter read.
FIfA also wants confirmation on the September 4 date set aside by the congress faction of the NFF since “the timing seems very short.”
Nigeria only recently saw Fifa lift its suspension on its football federation on 18 July after Aminu Maigari was impeached in a move the world football governing body frowned at.
Following the reinstatement of Maigari, FIFA agreed with the NFF on a new roadmap for elections into the football federation but that agreement was breached after two factions emerged with Giwa being elected as the federation’s president and 40 of the 44 delegates disapproving his election.
The threat from FIFA is coming less than ten days before Nigeria hosts Congo in a Nations Cup qualifier scheduled to take place in Calabar on 6 September.
Football analysts in Nigeria are already calling on authorities in the NFF to ensure that they sort out the crisis in the football house in other not to jeopardise Super Eagles’ preparation for the match.

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