JamzNG Latest News, Gist, Entertainment in Nigeria
There has been a dramatic turn in the battle over who will be the next president of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), OwnGoalNigeria.com can exclusively reveal.
The position became vacant following the resignation of the NFF board led by Ibrahim Musa Gusau, meaning that elections scheduled for September will not take place.
The National Sports Commission (NSC) proposed a normalization committee and earlier in the week, world football’s governing body FIFA visited the country for a fact-finding mission and also to comment on the way forward.
Its mandate will be to normalize the system during a particular period leading to new elections for the NFF board of directors. A process that, according to the NSC, will last between six and one year.
In the run-up to the election, a major twist occurred a few days ago when the anointed elect decided not to take office because he believes it will hinder his personal and business growth.
As we exclusively reported on August 27, former Nigeria international midfielder Seyi Olofinjana, who we said was a dark horse, is now firmly in favor of being the next man in charge as NFF President.
Graduate of the Master’s program in Sports Management at Manchester Metropolitan University. He began his post-football life in 2015 with a role at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Loans Pathway Manager at the club.
The former Super Eagles midfielder left his position in 2021 for the Swiss Grasshopper Club Zürich, becoming their new sporting director. A role that ended after two months.
He resigned and left on 20 June 2022. In June 2024, Olofinjana was appointed head of scouting at Premier League club Chelsea. He was given the responsibility of identifying talent from Africa.
The 46-year-old is among a growing list of Africans with a UEFA Pro licence, the highest coaching qualification in European football. Olofinjana also has two master’s degrees: sports director and project director.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
