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A letter purportedly sent by FIFA to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), warning of possible suspension over allegations of government interference in the federation’s leadership, has been dismissed by the NFF as fake — even as some Nigerian outlets continue to report on the document as genuine.
The document in circulation is dated September 1, 2026, and is attributed to FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström, addressed to the NFF President and the Chairman of Nigeria’s National Sports Commission. It claims FIFA had taken note of reports that former NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau resigned following a directive from the Presidency, and cites Articles 14, 19, and 13 of the FIFA
The letter reportedly gives Nigerian authorities seven days to confirm that Gusau’s resignation was voluntary, and warns that failure to do so could lead to Nigeria’s suspension from FIFA and CAF competitions, with a normalisation committee appointed to run the NFF’s affairs in the interim.
The NFF has pushed back firmly. In a statement issued Tuesday via its official X account, the federation denied that the letter originated from FIFA at all, describing it as fake. According to the NFF, FIFA had already accepted the resignations of Gusau and other former executive committee members without raising the kind of objection the letter describes.
One Nigerian outlet, OwnGoal Nigeria, reported that FIFA itself had distanced itself from the letter after being contacted, and that a Nigerian delegation including officials from the National Sports Commission and the NFF’s acting leadership was received at FIFA headquarters in Zurich as part of discussions toward setting up a normalisation committee.
The controversy comes amid real upheaval at the NFF. Gusau, along with general secretary Mohammed Sanusi and eleven other executive committee members, resigned last week following pressure over the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for a second consecutive FIFA World Cup and the Super Falcons’ first-ever failure to qualify for the Women’s World Cup.
President Bola Tinubu has publicly called for sweeping reforms of Nigerian football administration in response. In the aftermath, the NFF installed an interim leadership structure: Emmanuel Ikpeme, formerly deputy general secretary, became interim general secretary, while Ademola Olajire, previously the NFF’s Director of Media and Communications, was named interim deputy general secretary.
The NFF’s elections, originally scheduled for September 27, have been suspended, with the federation saying a new electoral process will follow the completion of promised reforms, in consultation with FIFA and CAF.
