First Vice President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Seyi Akinwunmi has said the country would recapture its old glory in football if he is elected the next president of the federation.
Akinwunmi who is also the chairman of the Lagos State Football Association made the promise at an elaborate ceremony held at the Transcorp Hotel, Abuja to formally declare to succeed Amaju Pinnick as NFF president.
He said he is on a mission to re-engineer and reinvigorate the administration of football to enhance the development of the game in Nigeria.
He identified grassroots football development as one of the key areas his board would fully explore with a view to sustaining the supply channel for all the national teams.
The lawyer added that he would use his experience as the vice president of the NFF in the last eight years to enthrone an all-inclusive administration that ushered a new era for the game.
“I am coming to restore those glorious days when Nigeria used to be respected in the comity of football-playing nations in Africa and the world,” he said.”I will give priority to grassroots development so as to find a replacement for the ageing players so that no gap will be left in the process of growing the sport again.”
He also said he will focus on a good marketing drive to support the various national teams and club sides both for local and international competitions.
He, however, lamented the disconnection between grassroots football and the top tiers while promising unity to ensure that football gains.
“We need to aspire to a global standard and I am ready to lift football in Nigeria to this level, I am hoping that there are areas we need to improve and this we will work on when we come on board to make Nigeria a global brand,” he said.
Specifically, Akinwunmi promised to focus on football development, the business of football, infrastructure development, and deployment of technology.
On grassroots development, he said secondary school competitions would be revived to pave way for the academicals which used to produce some of the finest players in the country.
“As a unifier and harmonizer, we hope to support state football associations so that competitions at that level can be staged while regional will be organized while NFF will only perform its oversight functions just like FIFA has been doing for national FAs. I am coming out to provide the much-needed leadership that will take Nigerian football to a global height. For me this is another opportunity to serve Nigeria and reposition our football that will become a bride for others in the world,” he added.
Boasting on his experience as the chairman of the Lagos State FA as well as members of several committees including being the Vice Chairman of NFF, Akinwunmi believes his vast experience would be handy when he assumes office on September 30.