Nigeria Narrowly Avoids International Soccer Ban
Nigeria barely escaped being banned from international soccer on Monday when it recognised the FIFA-approved head of its national federation – just minutes before the country was due to be banned for its failure to do so.
The global football organisation had previously criticised state interference in the running of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), and said it would suspend the country from international matches as of 11:00 GMT, effectively excluding the nation from next month’s African Nations Cup qualifiers.
However, FIFA said it has since received confirmation that its recognised leadership team under Amaju Pinnick had been given effective control of the NFF and its offices.
More than three hours after the deadline, FIFA released a statement indicating that the suspension would no longer take effect.
The international football governing body had given Nigeria a final warning on 14 August to ratify Pinnick’s leadership, as it does not accept third party involvement in its member federations.
Nigeria are due to play a qualifier for the 2019 African Nations Cup in the Seychelles on 8 September.
Image: Amaju Pinnick [online image] (2018) sourced on 21 August 2018 from
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