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Tag: NFF

  • NFF denies sacking assistant coaches

    NFF denies sacking assistant coaches

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has denied sacking assistant coaches of the national teams.

    The NFF, however, clarified that the assistant coaches would only be engaged on invitational basis for national assignments

    According to the Nigerian football governing body, the development is in line with existing policy whereby only head coaches of the various teams are salaried.

    NFF in a terse statement shared via X, formerly Twitter, revealed the assistant coaches will only earn invitational allowances and match bonuses when they come for national assignments.

    The statement reads: “Thenff’s attention has been drawn to misleading reports in a section of the media that all Assistant Coaches of the National Teams have been sacked. This is incorrect.

    “The Board has done no more than re-enforce an existing policy whereby only Head Coaches of the various teams are salaried, while Assistant Coaches are engaged elsewhere and only earn invitational allowances and match bonuses when they come for National assignments”.

  • AFCON 2023: NFF President reacts as Ndidi withdraws from Super Eagles’ camp

    AFCON 2023: NFF President reacts as Ndidi withdraws from Super Eagles’ camp

    President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Gusau has allayed fears surrounding Wilfred Ndidi’s departure from the Super Eagles’ camp ahead of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

    Ndidi, a key player in Peseiro’s squad was replaced by Royal Antwerp player, Alhassan Yusuf after sustaining an injury ahead of the Super Eagles AFCON 2023 campaign.

    Gusau said in an interview on the NFF’s website on Saturday, that there was no cause for alarm.

    He said that the team had the ability to perform well even without the Leicester City midfielder.

    “I don’t have any tension because I know we played a lot of matches without Ndidi and won a lot of matches without him.

    “We also played a lot of matches with Ndidi and lost unexpectedly, so it’s not about Ndidi, it’s about the national team of Nigeria” he said.

    Ndidi’s replacement, Yusuf, currently making an impact for Antwerp, notably scored a vital goal in their UEFA Champions League match against Portuguese opposition.

    He also provided an assist in his team’s victory against FC Barcelona.

    Gusau expressed confidence in Yusuf’s contributions to the AFCON campaign, citing his impressive performance against FC Barcelona as a positive indicator.

    “The young boy that was brought in now, Yusuf is also doing wonderfully well with his team.

    “When they played against Barcelona, you can see the performance he put on in the win against Barcelona in the Champions League,” the NFF president said.

    Drawing parallels to Sunday Mba’s pivotal performance in AFCON 2013, Gusau hoped that the young Nigerian talent, Yusuf would replicate a similar impact.

    “He’s also a young boy, maybe it’s an opportunity for him to do a miracle.

    “Don’t forget everybody did not have confidence in Mba when we went to the AFCON in 2013 and at the end of the day Mba was part of the players that performed a miracle” he said.

    “Nobody knows what Yusuf is going to be in the team so it’s not about Ndidi, it’s about the Super Eagles.”

    Super Eagles are scheduled to face Guinea in an upcoming preparatory match before heading to Cote d’Ivoire for their AFCON campaign.

    The 2023 AFCON which kicks off on Jan. 13 will end on Feb. 11.

  • NFF mourns the passing of Sebastian Brodricks-Imasuen, Africa’s first FIFA World Cup winner

    NFF mourns the passing of Sebastian Brodricks-Imasuen, Africa’s first FIFA World Cup winner

    The Nigeria Football Federation has expressed deep shock at news on Wednesday morning of the death of the first man to lead an African team to win a FIFA World Cup, Coach Sebastian Brodricks-Imasuen, at a hospital in Benin City, Edo State.

     

    The 85-year tactician, according to his family, was undergoing treatment for stroke and diabetes but gave up the ghost at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital in the early hours of Wednesday, 3rd January 2024.

     

    “The NFF and the entire Nigeria Football fraternity are sorely pained by the demise of Coach Sebastian Brodricks-Imasuen. He worked very hard at his craft and was tireless in his efforts to bring honour to the homeland through the various National Teams he worked with. No one can ever forget how he led an unsung group of boys to China to win a first-ever FIFA World Cup for Nigeria and Africa,” NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, said on Wednesday.

     

    Brodricks-Imasuen was Head Coach of the Nigeria U16 squad that won the inaugural FIFA Cadet World Cup in China in 1985, defeating West Germany 2-0 in the final at the Workers’ Stadium in Beijing. Two years later in Canada, he led the team to runner-up position after a penalty shootout defeat to the former Soviet Union, and two years later, in Scotland, his team lost to eventual winners Saudi Arabia on penalties in the quarter-finals. Two years later, FIFA upgraded the competition to an U17 tournament.

     

    The soft-spoken, easy-going tactician also assisted Dutchman Clemens Westerhof as Nigeria finished as runners-up at the 1990 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Algeria.

     

    Nicknamed Sabara, Brodricks-Imasuen featured for Bendel Insurance in his playing days, famously scoring the winning goal when Insurance edged feisty Mighty Jets in a replayed 1972 Challenge Cup Final in Ibadan, after both teams were deadlocked at 2-2 in the first match at the Onikan Stadium in Lagos, thanks to the heroics of late Sam Garba Okoye.

     

    Apart from his successes at international level, Sabara also coached El-Kanemi Warriors, Udoji United FC and Bendel Insurance.

  • AFCON 2023: NFF denies unveiling new Super Eagles jerseys

    AFCON 2023: NFF denies unveiling new Super Eagles jerseys

    Contrary to earlier reports, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has denied unveiling new Super Eagles jerseys as they prepare for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament to be held in Cote d’Ivoire next year.

    Some credible sources had announced that a new Super Eagles jerseys were unveiled by the NFF but the body has now come out to say it’s yet to unveil new Super Eagles Jerseys.

    Images of a supposed jersey unveiled by popular American footwear and apparel company Nike made the rounds across social media in the week.

    Reacting to the trend, the NFF disclosed in a statement via X on Friday which read, “We want to inform the general public that this news is not true.

    “At the moment we have no jersey being launched for the Super Eagles for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations scheduled to be held in Cote d ívoire next month,” the statement added.

  • 2023 AFCON: Super Eagles coach, Peseiro, NFF clash over final squad list

    2023 AFCON: Super Eagles coach, Peseiro, NFF clash over final squad list

    There is palpable tension brewing between the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, and the head coach of the national team, Jose Peseiro, concerning the final squad list for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

    There are indications that  Peseiro has submitted a 25-man squad ahead of the tournament.

    But the NFF is putting pressure on the 63-year-old to make it 27 players.

    Peseiro, however, feels 25 players will be easier for him to manage instead of 27.

    The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has told qualifying nations that they can feature in the competition with 27 players against 25 that it used to be.

    But CAF also dropped a caveat that only 23 players will be registered on match days.

    Peseiro had clashed with the NFF over the original provisional list, submitting 40 players instead of 50 the federation wanted.

    The Super Eagles are due to depart to Dubai, UAE for a training camp before the competition kicks off.

    The 2023 AFCON will kickstart in January 11 in Cote D’Ivoire.

  • Colombia 2024: FIFA moves Nigeria, Burundi qualifying match to Dar es Salaam

    Colombia 2024: FIFA moves Nigeria, Burundi qualifying match to Dar es Salaam

    World football-governing body, FIFA has moved the 2024 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup final qualifying round, first leg match between Nigeria and Burundi from Bujumbura to Dar es Salaam in nearby Tanzania, as the world body has deemed the pitch in Bujumbura unfit to host the game.

     

    It has also been clarified that following the expansion of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup to a 24-team tournament (from the 16-team event that it was at the last edition in Costa Rica last year), and the granting of two more slots to Africa, the fixture between Nigeria and Burundi will be the final qualifying round, with the winner over two picks picking up a ticket to Colombia.

     

    Burundi will now host the Falconets at the Azam Stadium Complex in Dar es Salaam – the same venue where the Falconets played a 1-1 draw with their Tanzanian counterparts in the last round, before edging the Tanzanians 2-1 in Abuja to reach this stage.

     

    The Confederation of African Football has also named South African official, Nonjabulo Nonhle Ndlela as referee for the match that has been scheduled for Sunday, 14th January 2024, with her compatriots Maneo Evodia Tau and Nandipha Menze as first and second assistant referees respectively. Nteboheleng Theresia Setoko from Lesotho will be the fourth official.

     

    Angelique Tuyishime from Rwanda will be in the role of commissioner, with Fransiska Katjaimo from Namibia as referee assessor.

     

    For the return leg at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja on Saturday, 20th January 2024, Tunisian official Asma Chouchane will be the referee, with her compatriots Houda Afine, Nesrine Ouertatani and Emna Ajbouni as assistant 1, assistant 2 and fourth official respectively. Christine Ziga from Ghana and Fadouma Dia from Senegal will serve as commissioner and referee assessor respectively.

     

    Meanwhile, all 25 players invited by Head Coach Chris Musa Danjuma for the fixture have been notified to arrive in the Federal Capital, Abuja on Wednesday, 27th December 2023 as training sessions for the first leg match commence on the following day.       

  • NFF commiserates with Sunshine Stars’ Management over Dosunmu’s demise

    NFF commiserates with Sunshine Stars’ Management over Dosunmu’s demise

    The Nigeria Football Federation has expressed sadness and deep sorrow over the death on Friday of the assistant kit manager of Sunshine Stars Football Club of Akure, Taiwo Dosunmu, from complications arising from bullet wounds when the team was waylaid by armed robbers earlier this month.

     

    Players and officials of Nigeria Premier Football League club, Sunshine Stars FC were on their way to a scheduled league match against Bendel Insurance FC of Benin City on Thursday, 7th December when their bus was attacked, with Dosunmu hit by a bullet in the process.

     

    President of NFF, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau said on Saturday: “This is a very sad development, but God is all-knowing and we can never question His wisdom. We appreciate the prompt response and kind gestures of His Excellency, Governor Godwin Obaseki and the Edo State Government as a whole following the unfortunate incident, even as we are deeply saddened by Dosunmu’s death.

     

    “Our prayer is that Almighty God will grant the late Dosunmu eternal rest, and also grant his immediate family, relations and the Board and Management of Sunshine Stars FC, as well as the good people of Ondo State and the Nigeria Football fraternity the fortitude to bear the loss.”

     

    A release by the club said Taiwo Dosunmu breathed his last at the Intensive Care Unit of University of Benin Teaching Hospital after a series of surgeries by consultants at the facility. The release described the late Dosunmu as “a very hard- working individual who took his job with all sense of seriousness.”

  • NFF ACTU holds sensitization seminar for Federation’s top officials in Abuja

    NFF ACTU holds sensitization seminar for Federation’s top officials in Abuja

    The Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit of the Nigeria Football Federation, in collaboration with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), on Tuesday held a sensitization seminar for senior staff of the Nigeria Football Federation, under the theme “Imbibing Ethics and Integrity Principles in Efficient Service Delivery”. The sub-topics were ‘Entrenching Ethics and Integrity Principles in the Work Place” and “An Overview of the National Ethics and Integrity Policy.”

     

    Mrs Mutiat Musa, a deputy director in the System Study and Review Department of ICPC, who spoke on “Entrenching Ethics and Integrity Principles in the Work Place,” highlighted the importance of ethical conduct in public service, and maintained that if each officer, in his/her own little corner opts to be ethical and live a life of integrity, the world will be a much better place to inhabit. She pointed out that much guidance on ethical conduct for public officers can be drawn from the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, Public Services Rules, Circulars, Financial Regulations, ICPC Act 2000, EFCC Act 2004, Public Procurement Act 2007, Money Laundering Act 2011 and various institutional instruments that are for the purpose of keeping the public officer on the straight-and-narrow.

     

    She contended that living a life of integrity is more important than any other thing, as this ensures that even when people are not watching, you are able to conduct yourself ethically and with discipline and dignity.

     

    Adogo Alonyenu, of the same department, spoke on “An Overview of the National Ethics and Integrity Policy,” asserting that the National Ethics and Integrity draws its contents from various legal instruments such as the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the ICPC Act 2000, the National Orientation Act and the United Nations Convention Against Corruption 2003.

     

    NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi declared the seminar open, stating that the NFF will continue to give robust support to the work of the Anti-Corruption Transparency Unit of the NFF, encouraged by the great improvement in the Federation’s index rating by the ICPC.

     

    NFF’s ACTU chairman, Barr. Okey Obi (also the Director of Legal Services) made the opening remarks, in which he noted that this is the third sensitization seminar for NFF’s staff since Mr. Larry Abuo became the NFF’s ACTU Desk Officer in the ICPC, and commended the latter’s energy, forthrightness and dedication to the assignment.

     

    Also at the seminar were NFF Deputy General Secretary, Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme; Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire; Ag. Director of Competitions, Ruth David and; other top officials of the NFF who were participants.

  • CAF Awards: Gusau hails Osimhen, Oshoala, Nnadozie, Falcons as Nigeria win big in Morocco

    CAF Awards: Gusau hails Osimhen, Oshoala, Nnadozie, Falcons as Nigeria win big in Morocco

    President of Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau was a very happy man on Monday night, as Nigeria swept important honours at this year’s CAF Football Awards held in Marrakech, Morocco.

     

    The NFF supremo was personally present at the Hotel Movenpick and collected the first honour that came Nigeria’s way – Women’s National Team of the Year. He dedicated the award to all women football teams on the African continent.

     

    Chiamaka Nnadozie, who shone brightly at the FIFA World Cup finals in Down Under this year summer as the Super Falcons reached the Round of 16, was the undoubted winner of the honour of Goalkeeper of the Year (Women). The Paris FC of France safe hands made a moving speech: “To all the young girls growing up in Africa, dreaming of becoming a footballer one day, believe me dreams do come true. My dad didn’t want me to play football but I’m sure he’s gonna see this and be happy. So, keep dreaming, keep working and I believe that one day you’ll get to this stage.”

     

    After Asisat Oshoala won a record-extending sixth award as Player of the Year (Women), the auditorium went silent as it was time to present the men’s version. Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen, Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah were the final three.

     

    Osimhen was crowned, becoming the first Nigeria player in 24 years to take the gong. The last person was Nwankwo Kanu, back in 1999. Kanu also won in 1996, after Rashidi Yekini in 1993 and Emmanuel Amuneke in 1994. Victor Ikpeba took the crown in 1997.

     

    Gusau said: “I am very excited tonight. This has been hugely rewarding for our football and for our country as a whole. I congratulate Osimhen, Oshoala and Nnadozie, and I congratulate the Super Falcons as a team for bringing us this honour.

     

    “My charge would be that they all keep doing what they know how to do best, keep improving and keep winning. The sky will be the beginning for them.”  

     

    Osimhen became the first player in the history of the African Football Awards to have been crowned Player of the Year (Men) after having pocketed the Young Player of the Year (Men) in an earlier year. Only last Monday, the 24-year-old was crowned the 2022/2023 Player of the Year in Italy’s Serie A, after having won the Young Player of the Year in the same league in the 2021/2022 season. 

  • Armed Robbery Attack: Shaibu provides succour for injured, traumatised Sunshine players, officials

    Armed Robbery Attack: Shaibu provides succour for injured, traumatised Sunshine players, officials

    The Deputy Governor of Edo State, Comrade Philip Shaibu has provided much-needed succour and support for the injured and traumatised players and officials of Nigeria Premier Football League side, Sunshine Stars FC of Akure.

    A ball boy was shot and players and other officials highly traumatised and disoriented after the team bus was attacked by armed robbers on the Ore-Benin Highway on Thursday, as the team headed to Benin City for a scheduled NPFL Match 13 tie against Bendel Insurance.

    The sports-loving Edo State number two man immediately dispatched aides to the hospital where the ball boy was taken for treatment, alongside the highly traumatised contingent.

    Now, Comrade Shaibu has offered to foot the bill of the medical treatment of all those involved in the unfortunate incident.

    President of Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau has reacted to the Deputy Governor’s gesture: “We thank the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Comrade Philip Shaibu for this kind gesture. It is a commendable move which nobility cannot be over-emphasised.

    We appreciate him immensely, as we pray for quick recovery for the injured ball boy and the traumatised players and other officials.”