The Nation Newspaper

Tag: nff

  • SAINTFIET’S RACIST CLAIMS: NFF backs Keshi 100 %

    SAINTFIET’S RACIST CLAIMS: NFF backs Keshi 100 %

    • To secure world class lawyers for Big Boss
    • Maigari to seek audience with FIFA chiefs

    Eggheads of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have vowed to back Super Eagles chief coach Stephen Keshi 100 per cent in his quest to quash Malawi’s techncial adviser Tom Saintfiet’s claim that the Big Boss passed racist comments against him in one of his interviews with the international media.

    SportingLife scooped further from those who should know at the glasshouse that the federation is in talks with top legal attorneys in Europe to defend the Big Boss whenever the matter comes up for adjudication later in the year.

    Interestingly, SportingLife gathered that the NFF President, Aminu Maigari is on the verge of seeking a private discussion with FIFA men in Zurich to understand what the matter entails as a prelude to preparing Keshi for his defence.

    Saintfiet reported Keshi to FIFA for passing racist comments on him when he stated that the Belgian should return to Belguim just as he described the former Malawi chief coach as a white dude. But Keshi recanted on his statement stating that he did not mean it the way the Belgian had interpreted it, insisting that he is not racist and could not have knowingly passed racist comments on anyone, not after his stay in belgium, where he played the game.

  • Brazil 2014 fifa World Cup: NFF expects Keshi’s play-off programme

    Brazil 2014 fifa World Cup: NFF expects Keshi’s play-off programme

    Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is expecting the Super Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi to submit his programme for the final play-off for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

    The Football body has given the coach the time after the Tuesday’s friendly game against Burkina Faso in Kaduna to submit his programme on time for the play-off that is expected to come up between October and November this year.

    ‘’Now that the team has qualified for the last lap of qualifiers and awaits the next opponent, adequate preparation is important. Report reaching shows that Ivory Coast, Ghana, Egypt, Cameroon, Algeria, Cape Verde, Burkina Faso Ethiopia, and Senegal have qualified for the run-off and you know it is going to be a two –legged affairs and on knock-out bases. So we expect at the end of the day Keshi to submit his programmes because we do not know our next opponent yet,” Ikpeme said.

    ‘’The fact that the team is going to have the next match in October, to me it is not really an issue because we expect at the end of the day Keshi is going to submit his programmes for the next run-off which is going to come up after the draws Monday next week.’’

    Ikpeme is also confident on the chances of the Nigerian team to pick the World Cup ticket. ‘’We in the Federation are not worried because the Nigeria Premier League is on and the players, those of them playing locally and their colleagues in Europe play everyday and they will be fit. We have the players and what it takes to qualify for Brazil 2014,” he disclosed.

  • NFF partners Google+ for Super Eagles

    NFF partners Google+ for Super Eagles

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is partnering Google for upclass on-line activities for the Super Eagles, and the project is already making some good impact.

    Chairman of the NFF Marketing Committee, Mr. Deji Tinubu said on Thursday: “The Super Eagles are now active on social media and have official presence on Google+/YouTube. Fans can follow them on www.google.com/+SuperEagles and www.youtube.com/NigeriaSuperEagles for exclusive updates.”

    On Wednesday, several thousands of fans across the globe joined the players and their coaches online in a special Google+ video chat ahead of the clash with the Flames of Malawi.

    Tinubu added: “The launching of a landing page on Google+, which is also connected to a YouTube Channel, will in the medium and long term serve as a principal publicity platform for our international players in the Super Eagles and other National Teams, and will also help with the media campaign at major championships.”

  • Rep orders NFF to pay $10,000 to Eagles

    Rep orders NFF to pay $10,000 to Eagles

    Chairman, House Committee on Sports , Godfrey Ali Gaiya has declared that the decision by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to begin the implementation of the Segun Adeniyi-led panel report to pay the Super Eagles $5, 000 bonuses is untimely and counterproductive.

    In a chat with newsmen in Abuja yesterday, the lawmaker advised the NFF to jettison the idea of implementing the Segun Adeniyi committee’s report for now because it could be counterproductive.

    Gaiya said that since the report has not been fully adopted by the National Sports Commission (NSC), the prerogative of the NFF to decide the bonus that would be paid to the players should not arise.

    “The boys need all the concentration now. They don’t need anything that would distract them.

    “The NFF should return to status quo and pay them the $10,000 for now, pending when the full report would be adopted and released by the Sports Commission” Gaiya said.

    Meanwhile, NFF president, Aminu Maigari had a different opinion to the lawmaker, saying that they will only pay $5,000 as winning bonuses in the all-important World Cup qualifier.

    “We cannot pay $10, 000 at this time and we have made it abundantly clear. We cannot return to any status quo as is being suggested” he said.

    Maigari said that his biggest dream as the president of the NFF is to see that the country’s flag is hoisted in Brazil come 2014.

    “My biggest dream is the World Cup ticket, and we are working hand in hand with the various arms of government to ensure that this becomes a reality. We have been able to get to this stage because we operate an open door policy which is the basic secret of our successes” he said.

  • NFF congratulates Enyimba, Wolves

    • Amazons, Angels too

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has congratulated all four teams that have qualified for the grand finale of the 2013 Men and Women Federation Cup competitions, which holds at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos on Sunday, 15th September.

    Two-time CAF Champions League winners, Enyimba FC of Aba pipped hard-fighting Lobi Stars 1-0 in an exciting semi final duel at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium on Wednesday, while Warri Wolves FC edged Akwa United FC in the other semi final played over two days at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi.

    Heavy downpour led to stoppage of the Wolves/Akwa United match in Bauchi 15 minutes to the end, with both sides locked at 1-1 in a match watched by visiting FIFA Senior Development Manager (Africa), Mr. Francesco Bruscoli and FIFA Development Officer (West Africa), Mr. Sampon Kablan.

    The last quarter-hour was played out on Thursday with Wolves grabbing a goal to qualify for the showpiece grand finale in Lagos.

    In the women’s event, Nasarawa Amazons pipped Bayelsa Queens 1-0 in Ado Ekiti, at the same time that Rivers Angels were turning back Pelican Stars 2-0 in Abuja.

    “The NFF duly congratulates all the four teams and let me say clearly here that we are looking forward to a very colourful grand finale. All four teams are quality sides and will bring so much panache to that big day in Lagos,” said Emeka Inyama, Chairman of the NFF Media and Publicity Committee.

    Super Eagles’ Team B marksmen Ifeanyi Edeh and Etebo Oghenekaro did the job for both Enyimba and Wolves, Edeh netting the only goal in Benin while Oghenekaro swept in the lone goal that sent packing ambitious an Akwa United in Bauchi.

    Inyama added: “The Federation Cup has certainly gained much more glamour with the women’s event being played alongside the men’s competition. The NFF and Lagos State anticipate great games in the finale in Lagos.”

  • NFF gives Keshi deadline on reduction of list

    NFF gives Keshi deadline on reduction of list

    •Says he has no option

     The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) don’t look like it is going to wait for an eternity for the Super Eagles’ list for the game against Malawi to be pruned and has therefore given Stephen Keshi till the weekend to come up with a reduced squad for the Calabar encounter.

    Keshi’s list which was released to the media last Tuesday elicited vehement rejection from NFF’s technical committee which considered the list outrageous.

    Commenting on this development, Demola Olajire, the NFF’s Assistant Director, Media told SportingLife on phone that Keshi has been given till the weekend to submit a fresh list for the crucial World Cup qualifier.

    Olajire also allayed fears that the move regarded by a cross section of Nigerians as undue interference could act as a spannner in the wheel of the progress of the team’s preparation for the game, pointing out that what the football house did was in good faith since the ultimate goal was the World Cup ticket.

    “Keshi has no option than to reduce his squad as directed by the NFF and we’ve told him to do so before this weekend,” Olajire stated in the interview.

    “We need to educate Nigerians and put everything in the right perspective because we didn’t tell Keshi the players to invite, we merely told him to reduce the list for better focus. The players he wants to invite is purely his prerogative.

    “We believe the team needs total concentration for the Malawi game and the first list of 43 players which Keshi submitted will not achieve this objective. Rather, it would become a source of distraction and that’s why we have asked him to reduce it”

    Asked to shed more light on whether the technical committee saw the list before it was made public, Olajire replied in the affirmative, revealing that the committee was in a meeting when the list was submitted and mandated him to release it to the media oblivious of the fact that it was bogus.

    “Yes, Keshi sent his list to the technical committee for ratification, which is normally the proceedure but this time around I was asked to release the list to the media before the committee ended its meeting, but that is in the past now. The most important issue now is for him to comply with the directive to enable us work out logistics of camping proper,” he added.

  • U-17 WORLD CUP NFF banks on Chelsea to release Makanjuola

    U-17 WORLD CUP NFF banks on Chelsea to release Makanjuola

    The Nigeria Football Federation is confident that London club, Chelsea will in no way pose any stumbling block for the country having formally applied for the club’s youngster Habib Makanjuola be allowed to join the Golden Eaglets ahead of the 2013 Under-17 World Cup to be hosted in the UAE between October 17 and November 8.

    Speaking on the development, Dr. Emmanuel Ikpeme, NFF’s Director Technical, said it was imperative that the Osun State-born youngster be given the chance to join the camp as soon as possible in order to blend with the squad.

    “Of course, we expect Chelsea to release Makanjuola on time since the coaches said he could be useful to the team, noted Dr. Ikpeme.

    He continued -Makanjuola has already done the mandatory Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan at the Abuja National Hospital, so the only thing left is for him to come and compete against the rest of the players for a place in the squad for the World Cup.

    On his part Makanjuola has pledged his allegiance to his father stating his willingness to don the country’s colours once called to do same.

     

  • Eagles’ bonus pegged at $5000

    Eagles’ bonus pegged at $5000

    A committee that probed a recent bonus row in the Super Eagles has recommended the win bonus for the team be pegged at $5,000-a-man.

    The committee, which is expected to present its findings to the country’s sports minister next week, also recommended a formal code of conduct to be signed by all players in the national team.

    “The Nigeria Football Federation is no longer in a position to pay $10,000 each for a win and that is why the committee has recommended we should revert to the status quo of $5,000 before the 2010 World Cup Presidential Task Force supplemented the bonus,” a top official informed MTNFootball.com

    A code of conduct will also be introduced to the Eagles, which will clearly spell out what is expected of both players and the NFF.

    The code of conduct is in force in countries like England and Germany and even though several national team coaches including current handler Stephen Keshi have been averse to this rule book, the committee has recommended it be enforced in the Eagles.

    “The players are expected to sign the code of conduct or else quit the team,” another official told MTNFootball.com

    In 1994, only a handful of players led by Mutiu Adepoju agreed to sign a code of conduct tabled by the NFF.

    In June, Super Eagles’ players stayed put in Namibia and refused to board a flight to the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil until they were paid full bonuses for a win and a draw in Kenya and Namibia, respectively.

     

  • SEPTEMBER FIFA WINDOW: NFF woos CIV for Eagles

    SEPTEMBER FIFA WINDOW: NFF woos CIV for Eagles

    President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Aminu Maigari has revealed that the body is proposing an international friendly for the September 2013 FIFA window for the Super Eagles with the star-studded Cote d’Ivoire senior team being the likely opponent.

    Disclosing this exclusively to SportingLife on telephone on Sunday night, Maigari disclosed further that the proposal being muted has Gabon and Cameroon as the other teams on the list which would be submitted to the NFF Technical Committee to ensure that a game for the FIFA window is arranged for the Super Eagles.

    Maigari revealed that a proposal sent ot the Ghana Football Federation for a game against the Black Stars of Ghana was politely rejected on grounds that the Ghanaian senior team’s calendar for 2013 was filled with friendly games.

    The NFF stated that the international friendly is likely to be played at the Abuja National Staduim, pointing out that: ” The plan is to ensure that the Eagles are kept busy all though the year.

    “Besides, we have decided that the Eagles must play a game on all the FIFA windows for such exercise.”

    “You know that we are heading for South Africa for a game against the Bafana Bafana on August 14 in honour of the former South African President Nelson Mandela in Durban.

    “We want to give the coaches enough matches to try all our talented players. In a way, we would also improve on our rating with FIFA and get better opponents for friendly games,” Maigari said.

  • NFF going ahead with bonus reduction

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has declared that it will go ahead with its decision to reduce the bonus of players in the national team.

    This disclosure was made by the general secretary of the NFF, Musa Amadu, who told The BBC that this decision was taken by the executive committee of the NFF after serious deliberations and financial considerations.

    “We’ve taken into account the peculiar situation [financial problems] of how things are with the federation,” Amadu said. “The $5 000 for a win and $2 500 for a draw is what we have settled for, agreed with the team and can actually afford.

    “We inherited the $10 000 amount and, with good intention, decided to continue paying the players that sum in order to motivate them. With the financial challenge, we opted for a cost-cutting measure to accommodate our demands and we got everyone on board.

    “It’s significant to know that, at $5 000, the Super Eagles remain among the best-paid national teams in Africa – a fact the players need to understand.”

    Although the panel set up by the sports minister to investigate the bonus row is yet to submit its report, NFF spokesman Ademola Olajire denied that the latest action of the football authorities could undermine the efforts of the panel.

    “We are trying not to undermine the laudable efforts of the panel investigating the bonus row,” Olajire said. “The way the federation is operating right now is based on the financial situation. “At the moment, there is no change on the bonus agreement. We are confident everyone will respect the NFF’s position on this matter.”