Players Union, coaches, referees unite on common NFF reform demands

By JOE APU

A joint FIFA and CAF delegation currently having consultations with Nigerian football stakeholders in Abuja this week, as part of an assessment mission into the governance crisis at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) met with key stakeholders. Among the outcomes was a rare show of unity as the players’ union, coaches’ association and referees’ body say they have aligned on a common pathway for reforming the game in Nigeria.

The crisis traces back to growing frustration over the administration and performance of Nigerian football, capped by the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup and the Super Falcons’ failure to qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. That pressure led NFF president Ibrahim Musa Gusau to resign in August, more than a month before his tenure was due to end, taking the rest of the federation’s leadership with him.

FIFA has since accepted the resignations and, alongside CAF and Nigeria’s National Sports Commission, is fine-tuning a reform roadmap.

The four-member FIFA-CAF team met separately with different constituencies in Abuja, including state FA chairmen, past leadership of the NFF  and players’ union representatives, rather than one mass gathering as originally planned. The sessions took place under tight security, with dozens of police and state security operatives deployed around NFF headquarters.

Former Super Eagles internationals Tijani Babangida and Chikelue Iloenyosi joined players’ union leader Harrison Jalla in representing professional footballers at the talks.

Speaking afterward, Prince Harrison Jalla, Chairman of the Advocacy for Football Reform, said key stakeholders had presented a common front to the delegation. He said the Players’ Union, Coaches’ Association and Referees’ Association had aligned on the same reform pathway, with a shared demand for equal representation and voting rights across the NFF Congress, the Board and its standing committees.

Jalla added that stakeholders had also agreed any normalisation process must be driven by the stakeholders themselves, rather than imposed from outside.

With the assessment mission concluding, FIFA is expected to weigh the Abuja findings as it decides the final shape of a proposed Normalisation Committee and the timeline for fresh NFF elections, with the federation’s electoral process — including a planned September 27 congress — remaining suspended in the meantime.