The Nation Newspaper

Tag: nff

  • Bassey canvasses support for Pinnick-led NFF

    Bassey canvasses support for Pinnick-led NFF

    CAF General Coordinator, Mr. Paul Bassey, has passionately appealed to the Government and Nigerians to give support to the Amaju Pinnick –led Nigeria Football Federation, including the reforms being embarked upon by the administration, so far with remarkable success.

    FIFA Match Commissioner Bassey, indisputably one of Nigeria’s real and active leading figures in world football, spoke at the weekend against the backdrop of improved reckoning of Nigeria by the world football community and credible steps taken by the 11 –month old Pinnick Board.

    “We must begin to assess the impact of the new NFF administration in real terms, and I am of the firm opinion that the recent appointment of Pinnick as Member of Organizing Committee for the FIFA U-20 World Cup is the latest acknowledgement by world football that the new NFF is projecting Nigeria football very well internationally.

    “I look at the reforms being embarked upon by the Pinnick administration, and I see the need for Government and every Nigerian to support this team and these reforms, because they are in the interest of our country’s football,” said Bassey.

  • NFF confident Eaglets will do well in Chile

    NFF confident Eaglets will do well in Chile

    General Secretary of Nigeria Football Federation, Mohammed Sanusi on Wednesday visited the Golden Eaglets at their Katsina Motel camp in Katsina, with a message of goodwill and support from the NFF Executive Committee, as the team continues preparations for this year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup finals in Chile.

    Also on hand to encourage the team were NFF Board Members, Ibrahim Musa Gusau and Ahmed Yusuf Fresh. Speaking to players and officials just before dinner, Sanusi harped on the team’s discipline while commending the technical and back-room staff for their commitment to the job.

    “I bring greetings to you on behalf of the NFF board led by the President, Amaju Pinnick and we have no doubt you would enjoy the best of hospitality here in Katsina,” began Sanusi. “But I want to remind you that without discipline, you cannot go far in your career and give your best.”

    Speaking further, he said the NFF has implicit confidence in the ability of the technical crew in picking   the best squad to represent the country in Chile, explaining to the players to give their level best.

    “I want you to know that no coach would overlook a good player and no coach wants to lose, so it is now left for you to do your best,” he said.”The officials you have with you are responsible and diligent persons because while in Niger Republic for the Africa Championship, I saw the kind of good job they did with the team and I believe they will be fair to all of you.”

    Coach Emmanuel Amuneke, who gave vote of thanks, said the Golden Eaglets would give a good account of themselves in Chile, adding that team selection had always been done without fear or favour.

  • NFF confirm: Eagles’ trip to Tanzania secured

    NFF confirm: Eagles’ trip to Tanzania secured

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has tidied up all arrangements surrounding Nigeria’s 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying match away to Tanzania in Dar es Salaam, thenff.com can report.

    Already, the NFF has concluded agreement with a leading Nigeria airline to fly the team into Dar es Salaam and back to Nigeria, with departure to be from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja and the return set for the Port Harcourt International Airport.

    NFF officials confirmed on Wednesday that the chartered aircraft will convey the delegation into Dar es Salaam on the eve of the match, as Tanzania is a high altitude zone.

    The delegation will depart Dar es Salaam immediately after the match, and fly to Port Harcourt, where the Super Eagles have an international friendly against the Mena of Niger on September 8.

    Arrangements for the hotel where the Super Eagles will stay in Dar es Salaam have also been finalised, according to NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi.

    Nigeria and Egypt have three points each from the Matchday 1 of the qualification series to be on top of Group G, though the Pharaohs have scored one more goal and are slightly ahead following their 3-0 defeat of Tanzania in Cairo.

    On the same weekend, the Pharaohs will travel to Ndjamena to confront the Les Sao of Chad.

  • Sierra Leone to play AFCON qualifiers in Nigeria

    Sierra Leone to play AFCON qualifiers in Nigeria

    The Nigeria Football Federation has confirmed that Sierra Leone national team has been granted permission to play its 2017 African Nations Cup qualifiers in Nigeria.

    The Sierra Leoneans first match in Nigeria will therefore be on Sunday, September 6, against Cote d’Ivoire.

    NFF general secretary, Sanusi Mohammed, confirmed this to africanFootball.com on Wednesday.

    He said, “I can confirm to you that Sierra Leone football federation has requested to play the country’s national team’s AFCON qualifiers in our country.

    “And we have taken the request to the ministry of health who approved that the Leone Stars can  play in Nigeria.”

    Mohammed added that the NFF has offered the Leone Stars Lagos or Port Harcourt to use as a match venue.

    “We have offered the Sierra Leoneans Lagos or Port Harcourt to play their matches, so It’s up to them to choose where they would prefer,” Muhammed added.

     

  • Oliseh, NFF woo Nigerian football clubs to list on NSE

    Oliseh, NFF woo Nigerian football clubs to list on NSE

    Nigerian football clubs and league need to harness the vast opportunity offered by the nation’s capital market and the huge enthusiasm of sport-loving Nigerians to develop reliable funding channels by listing their companies on the Nigerian stock market.

    The new Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh and president, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mr. Amaju Pinnick, who visited the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), called on Nigerian football clubs and footballers to take advantage of the stock market to build their future.

    Oliseh said Nigeria operates a capitalist economy that thrives on private funding and investments noting that football clubs cannot succeed without private sector funds.

    According to him, with a population of about 170 million Nigerians passionate about football, the only way to grow Nigerian football is to attract massive investments from the private sector.

    Pinnick said the NFF would go beyond the symbolic visit and ringing of the closing bell of the market to wooing Nigerian football clubs to list on the NSE.

    “We will want to have a good relationship with the NSE, in the nearest future, we will want clubs like Warri Wolves, Enugu Rangers, among others to be quoted on the stock exchange,” Pinnick said.

    He noted further that one of the problems the football section of the sport has seen is the increasing withdrawal of government from funding clubs because the governments now have a lot of fundamental challenges to attend to.

    “So if we want to have the football run in an effective way, we have to partner with the corporate organisations, so that our football will be run in the same way it is being run abroad,” Pinnick said.

    Oliseh promised that he would provide level-playing ground for all talented Nigerians stressing that players would be picked on merit while the coaching crew will work with all stakeholders to revive the country’s fortunes in the sport.

  • Annual Kids’ Cup: NFF to partner Channels TV

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has officially labeled the annual Channels Television Kids’ Cup Football Competition as an NFF –protected competition, meaning that the NFF will henceforth be involved in the technical planning and general encouragement of the event.

    NFF President Amaju Pinnick said the NFF Executive Committee took the decision to partner with Channels Television on the competition because it is convinced about the credibility and developmental objective of the seven –year old competition.

    “The NFF Executive Committee unanimously approved that the Channels’ Television Kids Cup Football Competition become an NFF –protected competition, and endorsed the core objective behind the event, which is to develop football among primary schools in the country and identify talents from very young age.

    “Over the past seven years, Channels Television has done excellently well in the organisation of this competition, and primary schools all over the country now look forward to the competition every year. It is a major developmental effort.”

    The NFF Executive Committee also endorsed a proposal to always send the best eleven players selected over the course of the competition overseas for a kiddies tournament.

  • Dream team VI departs for Addis Ababa

    Dream team VI departs for Addis Ababa


    The Nigerian Super Eagles, dream team VI are set to depart the country for Addis Ababa, Nigeria football governing body reports.

    This was made known on Thursday after the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) posted a tweet concerning the journey of the team.

    “Dream Team VI about to depart Abuja all the way to Addis Ababa where they would connect Pointe Noire. Send in your wishes for the team,” NFF posted.

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  • NFF seeks German model for Nigeria

    NFF seeks German model for Nigeria

    The Nigeria Football Federation is seeking to forge closer links with Germany in an attempt to revive the country’s soccer fortunes and hasten the national team’s development, the federation’s president, Amaju Pinnick, said on Tuesday.

    NFF wants to send coaches to German clubs and model Nigeria’s senior league on the Bundesliga, which it considers “the top model league in the universe,” as part of a plan to take Nigerian football to a new level, Reuters says.

    “Germany is not only the reigning champions of the world in football, it is also a very strong economic power,” Reuters quoted NFF president, Amaju Pinnick, as saying on the NFF website (www.thenff.com) following a meeting between federation delegates and Germany’s ambassador to Nigeria, Dietmar Kreusel.

    “We keenly desire to partner with the DFB (German Football Federation) and the German League. The NFF is presently doing a lot in the area of development of the game in Nigeria.

    “Now we are requesting support for our developmental programmes for women’s football, as well as capacity building for our referees and coaches,” Pinnick added.

    Among requests made by delegates to the ambassador were better procedures for securing visas for NFF executives into Germany for football programmes.

    Nigeria, once the powerhouse of African football, has endured a tough few years in international competition.

    Ranked 10th globally in 2006, the country is now 57th in the FIFA world rankings – its lowest since 1999.

    In last year’s World Cup, the Super Eagles reached the round of 16 for the first time since 1998 before losing to France.

    After winning the African Nations Cup in 2013, the three-time African champions failed to qualify for this year’s finals in Equatorial Guinea.

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  • NFF supports Oliseh’s U-turn on selection criteria

    NFF supports Oliseh’s U-turn on selection criteria

    The Nigeria Football Federation has thrown its weight behind new Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh’s decision to change his criteria for invitation of players to the national team.

    Oliseh had on Monday through his YouTube page announced a change in his initial position not to invite players who are not playing in top-flight leagues in the world.

    The Eagles coach noted that goalkeepers and outfield players plying their trade in the lower leagues and who are exceptional would now be considered for invitation to the Super Eagles.

    NFF president Amaju Pinnick in a chat with africanFootball.com said “We support everything Oliseh is doing. He knows what’s best for his team and I can tell you that Oliseh has been working since he left the country.

    “I am particularly impressed at his work ethics and professionalism. There is no action he takes that he does not first inform us (NFF) on the rationale behind the decision and the motive he intends to achieve with such a decision.”

    “We need to give him time because everything he does is in the best interest of the country. We don’t have a problem with his change of position.”

    Oliseh is expected to announce his list of call-ups for the 2017 African Nations Cup qualifier against Tanzania in the coming week.

  • ‘NFF is not owing any coach’

    ‘NFF is not owing any coach’

    In a swift response to concerns expressed by a section of Nigerian Coaches, General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Dr. Sanusi Mohammed, informed www.footballlive.ng that Emmanuel Amuneke and his other National team Coaches have been paid their salaries.

    ‘ We’ve paid all the salaries owed, we cleared them all yesterday.

    Besides what’s the all the fuss about even the Federal and State governments owe salaries. Am also aware there are journalists who

    are being owed but people don’t make issues out of these things,’ the NFF Scribe said.

    ” We are not owing any outstanding salaries.”

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