Okpala Says Nigeria has Nothing to Fear from FIFA Meeting

Former Nigerian international Sylvanus Okpala has said Nigeria has nothing to fear from the FIFA meeting with stakeholders in Nigerian football scheduled for Sunday in Abuja.

Okpala said concerns about a possible negative outcome from FIFA’s fact-finding mission were unfounded, stressing that both FIFA and Nigeria shared the same objective of developing the country’s football.

He said the recent resignation of members of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) board and its General Secretary followed pressure from the football public, which had called for changes in the administration of the game.

According to Okpala, FIFA would not seek to run Nigerian football but could advise the country on measures needed to improve the sport.

He noted that officials in other countries had also resigned after failing to meet expectations, arguing that Nigeria’s situation was not unique.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Advocacy for Nigeria Football Reform Initiative, Prince Harrison Jalla, has called for equal representation of the Players Union and State Football Association chairmen at the meeting.

Jalla said the invitation allocated six slots to State Football Association chairmen but only three to the Players Union bloc, describing the arrangement as an imbalance that should be corrected.

He argued that the NFF’s 2010 Statutes, as amended, recognised five federating units as equal and said the principle should guide the restructuring of Nigerian football.

Jalla warned that the current arrangement could create another structural imbalance and urged stakeholders to ensure that the rebuilding of Nigerian football started on a fair foundation.