FIFA has approved the appointment of a Normalisation Committee to take over the administration of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) until May 31, 2027.
The decision was taken on Thursday by the Bureau of the FIFA Council, following the leadership crisis that has hit Nigerian football in recent months.
The approval was contained in a letter signed by FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafström and addressed to the NFF’s Acting General Secretary, Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme.
According to the letter, the committee will be made up of a suitable number of members who will be appointed jointly by FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as soon as possible.
FIFA said the committee will manage the affairs of the NFF and oversee fresh elections into the federation’s Executive Committee.
“The period during which the normalisation committee shall perform its functions shall expire as soon as it has fulfilled all of its tasks, but by no later than 31 May 2027,” the letter stated.
The world football body also ruled that none of the members of the committee will be eligible to contest for any position in the forthcoming NFF elections.
Pending the appointment of the committee members, FIFA said the NFF Secretariat will continue to handle the day-to-day running of Nigerian football.
The intervention comes after former NFF President Ibrahim Gusau, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi and other members of the Executive Committee resigned in August, following criticism over the failure of national teams to qualify for major tournaments.
President Bola Tinubu had ordered a comprehensive reform of Nigerian football, directing the National Sports Commission to work with FIFA and CAF on the process.
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