The Nigeria Football Federation Establishment Bill Has Been Passed By The Senate

The Nigeria Football Federation bill seeking to legalise the country’s football governing body was on Tuesday passed by the Nigeria senate.  This followed the adoption of the report on the NFF Establishment Bill 2017 by the Senate Committee on Sports and Youths Development.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Obinna Ogba, while presenting the report, stated that it had become necessary to repeal the extant laws guiding football in the country. He said it would be the first time football administration in the country would be backed by law, not a decree.

He said “It has become necessary to repeal the Extant Act. This is because it requires a lot of amendments to bring it into agreement with FIFA required international best practices. It is to give the desired boost it requires. The bill has no financial implication because it is only seeking a change in the name of the football body in order to achieve better results. It seeks to ensure that only those who are actually involved in competitive football are members of the federation, not just organisations and establishments as contained in the Extant Act. The bill also makes provision for the election of a president to lead the executive committee as against the existing law where the NFF  is a board appointed from different organisations. It further seeks to ensure mandatory systematic development of football through institutional, age and gender competitions. Also, the bill makes provision for development of coaches and referees to enable them participate in international competitions.”