By: Monday Danladi, Bauchi
President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau, MON and the General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi MON, on Thursday resigned their positions, on the back of a groundswell of national disenchantment over recent dismal performances of the National Teams. It was learnt that all the members of the NFF Executive Committee had also thrown in the towel.
Gusau’s resignation comes 34 days to the end of his four-year tenure. He was elected NFF President at the Annual General Assembly of Nigeria Football held in Benin City, Edo State on 30th September 2022.
He said his resignation followed consultations with his family, friends, and stakeholders within the football community. He added that he had communicated his decision to the members of the Executive Committee. Furthermore, Gusau confirmed that the decision to resign has been taken after careful consideration and in the overriding interest of Nigerian football.
“My resignation is intended to give way to a comprehensive and orderly reform process aimed at addressing the longstanding institutional, governance and developmental challenges confronting Nigerian football.”
At a press conference inside the NFF Secretariat, Abuja, Gusau, who also functioned as President of WAFU B, said he was leaving office with a sense of satisfaction over what his administration had been able to achieve during his tenure. He highlighted the renewed and vigorous focus on coaching education, noting that coaching courses have been organized in virtually all the license categories, with the long-awaited CAF A-License course set to commence on 13th September.
He also pointed to the improved stability in the domestic league calendar, progress in the refereeing sector and infrastructure in the form of a 68-room Players’ Hostel and new training pitches at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, not forgetting silver- -and-bronze medal earnings of the Super Eagles from the past two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, and the Super Falcons’ WAFCON triumph in Morocco in 2025.
The Zamfara State-born administrator had to bow out following new lows in the results of some of the National Teams, the most recent and poignant being the failure of the senior women national team, Super Falcons, to reach the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup finals.
This, a first absence for Nigeria since the competition was launched in China 35 years ago, was preceded by the failure of the Super Eagles to reach the 48-team FIFA World Cup finals held in the United States, Canada and Mexico in the summer, and on the margin of the U20 boys’ failure to qualify for next year’s Africa U20 Cup of Nations.
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