President Muhammadu Buhari says his administration will resist any attempts to undermine the development of soccer in the country, declaring that football remains the foremost sports activity in Nigeria and a national asset.
The President stated this in Abuja while receiving the 10-year Football Development Masterplan submitted by the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare.
Describing football as citizens’ passion and a major tool for unity, the President affirmed that it was the responsibility of government to safeguard the sport, which has brought Nigeria many laurels.
President Buhari, who used the occasion to spell out his expectations from the two-volume report, directed the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development and the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, to commence its implementation in phases, within the fine lines of relevant sections of the Nigerian laws on sports development and the statutes of the world soccer governing body, FIFA.
Reviewing the state of the round leather game in the country, President Buhari expressed concern that in the past years, football development has gradually stunted due to the neglect of the core orientation of football administration.
He described the governance structure around Nigeria’s domestic league as weak, adding that standards are conveniently compromised.
He, however, expressed delight that those issues and many more had been addressed in the Document.
The President therefore, urged the NFF to salvage the domestic league at all levels, saying that Nigeria’s football development must return to the path of focus on grassroots and youth development, and an overall good governance structure around every level of its development.
On the forthcoming NFF executive election, President Buhari reiterated his earlier communication to the body on the need for a more equitable and democratic representation in the Congress of the NFF.
According to him, this will ensure that critical stakeholders are not shut out and the most capable and competent men and women are elected to run the affairs of the Federation.
The Sports Minister, Mr. Sunday Dare, had announced that the Buhari administration had disbursed over fifteen billion Naira to NFF through budgetary appropriations and Presidential interventions in the last seven years.
Commending the President for his attention to football development in the country and laying a solid foundation for the growth of the game, the Minister described the 10-year Masterplan, which took the Ibrahim Galadima-led 16-member Committee six months to prepare, as a world-class document.
The Minister said the prescriptions set forth in the Football Masterplan, if followed through with the needed will and determination, would set Nigeria’s football on a very sure footing and position it amongst the best in the world.
He added that the implementation of the Plan would resolve most issues around the status of the domestication of Nigerian laws, NFF Statutes in line with FIFA Statutes and create room for harmonious relationships in the football value chain of the country.
Mr. Dare pledged that the Ministry would monitor the faithful implementation of the Masterplan to ensure that attention is paid to the business opportunities along the value chain, governance structure, standardisation, and prioritisation of the welfare of footballers, education and awareness.
Dare also told the President that one of the most important aspects of the Committee’s work was the legal regime around football in Nigeria, and the Masterplan made some far reaching recommendations on laws and statutes governing the administration of football.
He added that subject to the final decision of the NFF Congress, the Masterplan made recommendations for the expansion of the constituents for the NFF Elective Congress and Executive Board to 111 and 16 respectively, in order to meet new realities and needs.
A former Chairman of the Nigeria Football Association, Mr. Galadima, also noted that re-engineering the legal framework would put to rest the legality of NFF.
He said the Masterplan also recommended improving the tactical depth of coaches through utilising the core mandate of National Institute of Sports, pragmatic sports programmes, as well as regulating the operations of academies and grassroots based programmes.
Bello Wakili