Tag: Ibrahim Gusau

President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mallam Ibrahim Gusau, has expressed deep concern over the state of youth football development in the country, emphasizing that the future of Nigerian football lies in rebuilding from the grassroots level.

Speaking on the Federation’s renewed focus on talent development, Gusau revealed that the NFF, in collaboration with FIFA, has launched a robust Under-15 talent identification and grooming programme for both boys and girls, designed to lay a strong foundation for the nation’s football future.

 “I must be worried because the future of our football starts from the youth level,” Gusau stated in an interview with NFFTv.  “The good news is that NFF and FIFA have come up with programmes which are basically for the Under-15 boys and girls. We are very much high on it. If you could remember, our Under-15 boys travelled to Morocco to play some friendly matches, and even this year, they are still going. We are starting afresh.”

Gusau underscored that the new approach would end the practice of randomly calling players for screening before assembling national youth teams, insisting that the process must now begin from structured development centres across the federation’s zones.

Read Also: Super Eagles: NFF  Scrap U.S. friendlies to prioritize World Cup Play-Offs

 “In the near future, it is not going to be business as usual. It must be done from the Under-15 level,” he affirmed.

The NFF boss further noted that the Federation is investing in infrastructure to support the new developmental framework, including the construction of a hostel facility that will serve as a training and accommodation base for young players during holidays.

“We should be worried because Nigeria remains one of the best youth footballing nations in the world. We must have the enabling environment to give more time for young boys to stay together and face the challenges of competition. That is one of the reasons we are building this hostel — so that during holidays, we can bring them together in one place for proper training.”

Gusau added that the initiative will give coaches more time to instil tactical understanding and team philosophy in the players, ensuring a smoother transition to higher levels of national team football.

 “They need more time to understand themselves and the philosophies the coaches want them to play. In the near future, we won’t need to be calling young ones from everywhere for screening before forming a team. We are expanding the programme to the zones, where young footballers will be invited and selected to form the Under-15 team,” he concluded.

NFF president Ibrahim Gusau has expressed confidence Nigeria will qualify for the 2026 World Cup via the Playoffs, while also backing Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle.

On Tuesday, the Super Eagles kept World Cup hopes alive when they qualified for the continental Playoffs next month in Morocco, where they will battle Gabon, DR Congo and Cameroon for a ticket to next year’s Intercontinental Playoffs in Mexico to produce two more qualifiers for the Mundial.

“We have started preparations (World Cup Playoffs), but the most important thing is the commitment and zeal of the players,” Gusau said while expressing his confidence in Nigeria featuring at next year’s World Cup.

Read Also: W’Cup 2026: Toro hails NFF, stakeholders for Super Eagles’   playoff spot

“They have now realised that going to the World Cup is important to their careers, more than even how Nigerians look at it.

“The team spirit from our last two matches, they are ready to be at the World Cup, so I don’t have any element of doubt (to qualify for the World Cup).

“We are getting all the cooperation we need for the government to ensure we are ready for the Playoffs and I know we will move on to the Intercontinental Playoffs.”

He said coach Eric Chelle has justified his appointment as Super Eagles coach by winning four of six World Cup qualifiers.

“Had we had a little resemblance of that record, we would not have been where we are today,” he said.

• Announces BetPawa incentive package

President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, has called for a review of the current promotion format from the Nigeria National League (NNL) to the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), expressing dissatisfaction with the existing Super 8 playoff system.

Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the NNL held in Kaduna, Gusau charged club administrators and stakeholders to brainstorm and come up with a more effective and competitive format that will be fair to all clubs aspiring to reach the topflight.

Read Also: FIFA to distribute record $355 million to clubs for 2026 World Cup

 “I’m no longer comfortable with the way teams qualify to the NPFL via the Super 8 playoff,” the NFF boss declared. “I want you all to rub minds together and come up with a better way and report back to us.”

In a major boost for the second-tier league, Gusau also announced a fresh sponsorship deal with BetPawa, which comes with direct financial incentives for players and officials. According to him, beginning from the new season, winning teams will be rewarded with instant bonuses for both players and staff.

 “We now have BetPawa as part of NNL sponsors going into the new season,” Gusau revealed. “If a club wins a match, the 20 players dressed for that particular match and 5 officials will each get a match bonus of ₦56,000, latest an hour after the match, courtesy of BetPawa.”

The development is expected to boost players’ morale and add more competitiveness to the league, as the NNL continues efforts to position itself as a strong foundation for Nigerian football.

President of Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau has commended  veteran journalist and Managing Director of Complete  Communications ,  Dr. Mumini Alao for his contribution in the development of sports journalism in the country, urging other Nigerian sports writers to emulate him.

The NFF boss stated as much Sunday during the launch of Alao’s autobiography at the

Tayo Adenirokun Hall, University of Lagos, Akoka Lagos.

Gusau who was represented at the event  by the Chairman of Nigeria National League, George Aluo,  described Alao as a brilliant journalist who has intellectual capacity which has enabled him to rise to the top of journalism profession.

He said: ” Mumini Alao needs no introduction in Nigerian journalism. He has made his mark in the profession where he uses his brilliance and intellectual capacity to reshape sports reporting  in the country and am happy that he has not deviated from the ethics of the profession rather his intellectual contributions has continued help  in moving the  profession forward.

Read Also: NFF urged to secure 18-year-old Nigeria-Argentina born River Plate star Jonathan Asuzu

” There’s need for other journalists to emulate him because with people like him in sports reporting, Nigerian sports will continue to move to greater heights and I look forward to seeing more Mumini Alao in the country’s sports journalism circles.”

Gusau also used the opportunity to urge Nigerian journalists to collaborate more with the Football house positing that this is important for the country’s football to keep moving forward

” I want to use this opportunity to appeal to Nigerian journalists to work closely with the football house as is done in other climes  in order to move the country’s football forward. They should always engage in constructive criticisms  and not be antagonistic in their reportage which will not do anybody any good,”  concluded Gusau.

Alao regarded as one of the most  accomplished Nigerian sports journalists,  is an  author and media entrepreneur. He is the  Group Managing Director of Complete Communications Limited, publishers of widely-read popular journals, Complete Football magazine and Complete Sports newspapers. His last published book was “The Making of Nigeria’s Dream Team: Football Gold Medal Winners At Atlanta ’96 Olympic Games.”

• 4^th  Batch  set for NIS/ LSFA  training for  grassroots coaches

The President  of the Nigeria Football  Federation,   Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau,  has congratulated the Director-General National Institute for sports, Professor Olawale Moronkola ,  on the institution’s  50^th  anniversary held recently and praised him for  the notable  changes that had taken place in the last three and half years since he assumed leadership of the Institute.

 Speaking during a courtesy  visit to the DG with NIS senior staff in attendance,  he praised the efforts of Prof. Moronkola for bringing NIS to enviable heights  and for  producing  quality football coaches  which NFF and the  country  are  proud of .

He promised better collaboration  with the NIS under the leadership of Prof. Moronkola whom he noted had  always supported the activities of NFF whenever called upon.

 Both Gusau and  the DG  thanked  President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the National Assembly for improved  funding for sports.

In a related development, in continuation of the training  programme for  football grassroots coaches  in Lagos State at the NIS, another batch is set to resume training. 

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Chairman of the Lagos State Football Association,  Hajji Gafar Liameed, said:“ Based on the successes recorded from the previous three batches,  we are resuming the next batch on Saturday  February 22nd, 2025 at the National Institute for sports Lagos.  Those trained are better off than before and  there is huge awareness  about the programme better now, hence many coaches have joined the train signifying desire to be trained. Lagos State has set the pace, others  states are seeking to catch up with the tempo we have set.  “

He said more than 100 coaches   registered for the training but only 100 will be allowed  to participate in order to sustain  the quality and standards   that the NIS  put  in place  in the previous trainings.

“ We hope to consolidate on what has been  built. We thank the Director-General of NIS Professor Olawale Moronkola  for his pragmatic approach to the training ,” he said.

The training is targeted at grassroots coaches in Lagos State to upscale their knowledge in modern football coaching techniques.

Top-rated coaches  like former Super Eagles Assistant coach Fatai Amoo,  Nduka Ugbade,  Peter Nieketen,  James Adesina are some of  the resource persons.

Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) President Ibrahim Gusau  has dedicated the  Super Falcons’ Team of the Year  award  to  Nigeria’s First lady, Senator  Oluremi Tinubu , for   her  tremendous support for  development of women’s football  in the country.

Apart from  Ademola Lookman  being  crowned as  Men’s Player of the Year, Super Falcons’ goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie’s  retained the Goalkeeper of the Year award while the Super Falcons again won the Women’s National Team of the Year award as they did last year.

Gusau, who collected the Women’s National Team of the Year award on behalf of the Falcons, dedicated the prize to Senator Tinubu even as  he pledged that his administration will continue to support women’s football in all its ramifications.

Read Also: UPDATED: Ademola Lookman wins 2024 African Footballer of the Year Award

“ We are very pleased to receive this award as the number one  women’s national team in Africa  but  we are not going to rest on our oars,” he said on the podium in Marrakech.“ I will want to  dedicate this award to our   First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu  who has been supporting women’s  football in Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s five-time Olympian and Olympic bronze-medallist Mary Onyali, former Nigeria international striker Obafemi Martins and 1996 Olympic women’s long jump gold winner Chioma Ajunwa-Oparah were among the stars of the night as they presented awards.

Four Super Falcons, namely Michelle Alozie, Osinachi Ohale, Rasheedat Ajibade and Asisat Oshoala made the CAF Best 11 Women for 2024, while last year’s Player of the Year winner Victor Osimhen and new King Lookman made the Best 11 Men roster.

NFF president Ibrahim Gusau has blamed budgetary constraints for the failure to pay up outstanding allowances and bonuses to the Super Eagles.

At a meeting with the Super Eagles in Abidjan during which the players opened up on their disappointment over, the NFF boss said sponsors have not been forthcoming and the abridged 2025 AFCON qualifying tournament put a great deal of pressure on the football federation’s finances.

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The Super Eagles were unhappy they are still being owed monies dating as far back as 2020 and so this general meeting with the NFF top shot.

It was gathered that the NFF president will later give the Super Eagles assurance that payments will be made to defray these monies not later than next month.

It is on record that this year a generous President Bola Tinubu released the sum of 17 Billion Naira to clear the outstanding allowances and bonuses of the Super Eagles some of which go as far back as 2020.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Ibrahim Gusau, has confirmed that the process that will lead to the announcement of a new head coach for the Super Eagles is almost at the stage.

Gusau  said the NFF  was being  meticulous about the choice of coach for the senior national team in order to get  the best person for the job  so that Nigerians won’t query the final  choice upon announcement.

He said the body  had sealed  the deal  with  Bruno Labbadia as the Eagles coach before meddlesomeness  on the part  of the agent  with unreasonable demands scuttled the effort but noted that the new coach being considered will take the Eagles to the next level.

“Getting a coach for the Super Eagles is a process but along the line, we began a process and almost concluded. We reached an agreement but later  the middlemen scuttled the arrangement with demands that we never agreed to,” Gusau told NFF TV. “We cannot sit down and engage our country into something people will start raising questions that will be difficult to answer. We are almost done about it and we will do our best to ensure that by the time we come up with a coach it is going to be a coach that will take us to the level we should be.”

Meanwhile, Gusau  has defended recent  national team coaching appointments, adding merit is the major factor  considered by the football house.

Read Also: NFF to select best match commissioners through exams

He said  interim coach of the Super Eagles, Austin Eguavoen , was given the leeway to appoint those he would work it and that the NFF Technical Director opted for the choice of Rangers International FC’s Fidelis Ilechukwu and Daniel Ogunmodede of Remo Stars who he affirmed  were the two best young coaches currently in the league.

“When we gave Augustine Eguavoen the chance to manage the Super Eagles on interim basis, he decided to go for those that we claim to be the young and best coaches in the league, Fidelis Ilechukwu of Rangers and Daniel Ogunmodede of Remo Stars and no one can dispute it because we know they deserve to be there,” Gusau said.

He  insisted that the  appointment of Aliyu Zubairu was based on the  recommended of  the NFF’s Technical and Development Committee.

“We have a coach in the Under 20. We looked at merit and we gave the technical committee an opportunity to look at what who is best suited for the position based on current form and the one to give us what we want. The committee decided to bring in Aliyu Zubairu as coach who is the head coach of El Kanemi Warriors that led the team to the President’s Federation Cup title while they were in the second division,” Gusau continued.

” They also qualified to the NPFL and everybody is seeing the performance of his boys in the topflight. When the committee ruled he would be in charge, we didn’t dispute it.”

• Nigerian spirit propelled Eagles to AFCON final

In Nigerian football lexicon, there are some that believe that you must be as hard as nail or, simply put, ‘a cowboy’ to be able to overseer the administration of football, given the inherent problems that had long befuddled the game in the country. But Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau, the 40th President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), says his tried-and-tested simple ways of doing things would help him in taking Nigerian football to its Nirvana, in a frank conversation with MORAKINYO ABODUNRIN.

NIGERIAN SPIRIT

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau, said his dream to bequeath an enduring legacy on Nigerian football is well alive.

Despite the fact that the Super Eagles missed the glorious chance of winning the country’s fourth Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title last Sunday, following a 2-1 loss to the hosts, Cote d’Ivoire, Gusau, with his Pan-Nigerian outlook,  noted that the ‘Nigerian spirit’ demonstrated by the Super Eagles despite their loss in the Final Match is something to cheer about looking forward.

“We have always been talking about the Nigerian spirit but many people simply pay lip service to it,” Gusau noted on the eve of the AFCON final match.

“The Nigerian spirit is of high significance; it is the overpowering conviction that we can get things done with our will-power, hard work, diligence and perseverance.

“Currently, we may be having challenges in certain sectors and facets of our national life, but the Nigerian spirit can propel us to overcome those challenges and then reach for glory.

“That is what the Super Eagles have shown here. At the beginning of the tournament, very few people believed in the team.”

Elected as the 40th President of the NFF at the body’s 78th elective congress in Benin barely two years ago, Nigerian football is surely undergoing some renaissance since Gusau came on board and he reckons that nothing can be achieved without the support of critical stakeholders. 

DESTINY CHILD

While his predecessor was known for his swashbuckling posturing, Gusau is a truism of the common saying of someone being ‘as cool as cucumber’, and he admitted as much that “not only cowboy can oversee the success of Nigerian football.”

Gusau can indeed be likened to a ‘destiny child’ for obvious reasons. Two years ago, he was the leader of delegation of the Super Eagles to the 2021 Africa  Cup of Nations (AFCON)  held in Cameroon, where the  coach Austin Eguavoen-led side flattered to deceive as they crashed out in the  Round of 16 to Tunisia after  finishing their group stage  matches, that included Egypt with Mohammed Salah, in flying colours.

At Cote d’Ivoire 2023, however, the Super Eagles nearly won the long-awaited fourth AFCON title for Nigeria but for the loss against the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire in the Final Match at the Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara in Ebimpe, on the outskirts of Abidjan.

“I feel highly delighted to be leading the Super Eagles to  the Ivory Coast as the President of Nigeria Football Federation and it’s a thing of joy to me,” Gusau, who will be 60 on 1st March, told Sport $ Style exclusively on the eve of the Super Eagles  departure to the 37th edition of the continental showpiece.

“As you said, precisely two years now, I was given the opportunity to lead the Super Eagles as the head of delegation to the last AFCON in Cameroon, and I stayed with them as such. So, I can tell you that I know the Super Eagles inside and out.

“Therefore, it’s a thing of joy for me to be leading the team this time around to the AFCON as the president of the federation and I’m very hopeful of achieving good results,” he noted.

Though his board had a struggling start when he took over the reins of the NFF, no thanks to some of the inherited problems of the last dispensation, and it’s a measure of Gusau’s leadership qualities that there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel for Nigerian football after the not-too distant past that some observers regarded as the ‘locust years of Nigerian football’.

SUCCESS STORY

“We just make sure we give our best for the job and then we try to do whatever we feel it is right with the cooperation of the staff and other stakeholders like you (the media), and with the pieces of advice we are receiving from many stakeholders, as such we always try to see that we give our best efforts in order to get the best results for Nigerian football,” Gusau noted when pressed on the success of his board so far.

Under his watch and for only the second time in the history of Nigerian football, the country last December produced the Men’s and Women’s African Footballer of the Year as Victor Osimhen and Asisat Oshoala respectively were crowned as the continent’s best players for 2023, amongst other accolades, much to the delight of Gusau, as he beamed with smiles recalling the special night in Marrakech in Morocco.

“Our success in Morocco at the CAF Awards is not only  about the successes of Osimhen and Oshoala but we  also won the women’s best goalkeeper award by Nnadozie and the Super Falcons were also the best team of the Year too,”  Gusau noted, with his frank but boyish smiles. “That’s to tell you how lucky we were and I’m happy to be part of this success because it has been a long time this happened; I mean to win the African Footballer of the Year for both the men’s and women’s  categories as well as the best  women’s goalkeeper and then the best female national team. It has never happened before.

“I must say we are very lucky and we are going to see how we can make Nigerians even happier.”

Gusau, one of the unseen hands during the successful tenure of the Alhaji Aminu Maigari-led board, when Nigerian football won many titles that included the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa and the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates (UAE),  surmised that his management style is as simple as A-B-C. 

“As I said earlier, we leave room for stakeholders that are genuinely ready to partner with us for the progress and development of football in the country and that is the main secret behind some of the successes we have recorded so far,” he said.

“Of course, I try to make myself available for whoever wants to share one thing or the other with us, knowing genuinely that such advice given us is in line with our vision to make sure that we move the game of football forward in Nigeria.

“A lot of people also tell us what we are doing wrong, where we are doing good and we listen to everybody; so I think that’s the main secret behind it.”

In Nigerian football lexicon, there are some that believe that you must be as hard as nail or, simply put, ‘a cowboy’, to be able to oversee the administration of football, given the inherent problems that had long befuddled the game.

But Gusau would be the first to dismiss such notion, adding that he has long been in the Nigerian football ecosystem to know what is good for the country.

“I don’t agree with you that it’s only cowboys that can lead the NFF,” he said amid rancous laughter. “I don’t see it like that because I have been part of the system for a long time and I know what and what is good for Nigerian football.

“I know the hectic job that is ahead of me; it’s not an easy job to do because it (football) is something that everyone is interested in.

“I can say 99 percent of Nigerians, both male and female, are interested in what’s happening in Nigerian football, so it not easy.

“Of course, you have to behave like a ‘cowboy’, but in all honesty, we are doing our best.

“I can assure you that I’m not a cowboy.  Alhaji Musa is still the Alhaji Musa that you know; simple, focused and determined to see that he does what he’s supposed to do to see that the Nigerian football moves forward and achieves success.

“This is my focus and I won’t deviate from that,” he said.

Apart from ensuring that Nigerian football begins to win big on both the continental and global levels, the NFF President further hinted that it would be a dream comes true for him, if he can give the domestic football the much-needed fillip during his tenure.

NIGERIAN LEAGUE

For many, the domestic leagues: the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), Nigeria National League (NNL) and Nationwide League One (NLO) are nothing to write home about. But Gusau said he is committed to ensuring greater things happen across the domestic league, adding that it would be a thing of pride to raise the standard to an appreciable level.

“Of course, there are so many things we want to do in order to lift the face of Nigerian football,” Gusau further said.

“The legacy I want to leave behind is to take the game to a higher place than where I met it

“For example, what we are doing with the league, we are trying as much as possible to improve the standard of the league because I see no reason why our players should be leaving the country because they can get what they want from here.

“I think if a player can be paid one million naira in Nigeria, it is better than being paid 2,000 dollars in some of those far places they are going.

“Apart from the league, we are working very hard so that all our national teams can be the best on the continent and even beyond; we want to go back to that culture of winning titles.

“Before, we used to be the power house as far as age-grade football was concerned and we even have the record of being the best performing country as far as the Under-17 men’s football is concerned globally.

“All that has gone down, but I want to leave a legacy of taking us back to that level before I finish my tenure.

“Of course, the Super Eagles remains our greatest brand and it’s also our goal to ensure we get things right with them and not forgetting the fact that we are still the best as far as women’s football is concerned in Africa, but we want the Super Falcons as well as our other women’s teams to challenge for honours both in Africa and against the rest of the world.”

SIMPLICITY

Yet in his words, Gusau explained that simplicity has been his way of life as he gave a glimpse of his sense of dressing.  

 “I try as much as possible to dress and look very simple,” he said. “I still try to remain the Ibrahim Musa you know; a very casual man, but, most importantly, I love wearing white because it always makes me happy.

“Asides white colour, my other favourite colour is blue, especially when it comes to suit.”

Unlike many who are enamoured by and crazy with top end designs, Gusau said he has no reason to bother himself as such.

 “I don’t have any favourite design and I’m not crazy about any particular label,” he continued. “I just want to be simple, but I don’t stress myself about a particular design. When I see a design I like on anybody, I will just ask which tailor sewed it and the next thing, I will engage him (the tailor).

“But in all honesty, I don’t specifically have a single design that it’s a must that I patronise.

“I always try to take things as easy as possible and whenever I see what I want, I go for it.”

Yet administering Nigerian football even now amid  critical economic challenges  is not as straight forward as it seems, hence Gusau was pressed for the most difficult decisions he has made since  he came on board at the NFF.

 “So far, I can’t remember that very difficult decision because I don’t take most of my decisions in isolation of other members of the board and critical stakeholders.

“As such,  I don’t think there  is a single decision I have taken without due consultations.

“Whatever decision we have  taken so far is a decision of the board,  so I don’t think I have any singular difficult  decision that I have taken for now,” Gusau noted.