Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president, Amaju Melvin Pinnick has confessed that the soccer governing body is feeling the effects of economic constraints and obstacles caused by lockdown regulations occasioned by the outbreak of coronavirus across the world, megasportsarena.com reports.
He pointed out that the cessation of all football matters at home and abroad has left palpable ill-effects and setbacks on the NFF’s finances, with attendant dents on the ease of running all domestic competitions, payment of staff, remuneration of players, funding of the national teams and general aspects of football administration at all levels across the country.
The NFF boss, however, assured Nigerian football fans and stakeholders of the round leather game that he and other top shots in the executive committee will keep putting heads together to fashion out ways of getting round the prevailing economic distortions affecting the body.
Pinnick stated: “This has been a decidedly spiritual year; spiritual in the sense that no one anticipated what we have seen so far in terms of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has caused so much disruption and still causing. But we just have to live with it.
“We are liaising with the Federal Government, the Federal Ministry of Health, the NCDC and FIFA on the way forward. We have also been holding meetings; I mean the NFF Executive Committee. All with a view to forging a new frontier for the Nigeria game post COVID-19.
“COVID-19 has left businesses gasping for breath and it has been quite tough. It is tough for businesses now, so we just have to be realistic with what we expect from our sponsors and partners. We have had a number of meetings with them and we are looking at middle-ground situations that would be conducive for ourselves and for themselves.
“Our discussions are ongoing and we must continue to do everything to keep them in-house even as they also struggle to stay afloat. We are very practical on this matter. Actually, we should continue to appreciate our sponsors and partners for what they are doing. Their love of the game has kept them, as well as personal relationships.
“The disgruntled persons who are doing everything to foist a toxic environment on our football have even been writing to them to withdraw their sponsorship, threatening them and all that. I received a message an hour ago about someone wanting to take PwC, our external auditors, to court. We should all rise up and question the motives of these fellows.
“If not for personal relationships and their passion for the game, most of our partners would have pulled out as a result of the deleterious activities of these individuals. Before all these toxic issues polluted the football environment, we were well on the way to achieving our objective of making the NFF fully self-funding.
“At the end of the year 2018, we were about 60 per cent self-funding. But much of that progress is being eroded by these unwarranted toxic issues. All the same, we are going strong because we know that only the stout-hearted survive the big challenges, and we have that.
“We are working to see how we can hold the interview to select the new Head Coach for the Super Falcons. I have a meeting with our external auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers this week, on the need for us to get this done. Once we get the appearance money from the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, we will hand over the 30 per cent that is the entitlement of the players and then ring fence the balance for the purpose of paying the new Head Coach.
“Just as we did for the team going to the World Cup, we have plans to arrange quality international friendlies for them before the next AFCON competition to build a much stronger squad. It is most unfortunate that some Clubs are owing players in the Women League.
“This is not good. Having said that, the League has a board, and we expect to have correspondence from the board on such matters before we intervene. A case was brought to my notice some weeks ago and I decisively intervened. But if we don’t have information or representation from the board, there is little we can do.
“Our youth development programme is on course. You know that is one area the present NFF leadership is passionate about. Before the pandemic forced a lockdown, our NFF/Zenith Bank Future Eagles Championship was at the level of the zones, and once we are given the green light, that competition will proceed apace. It is a project most dear to our hearts and we cannot afford to treat it with cavalier attitude. “
