Nigeria faces ban as FIFA deadline looms
Source: Agencies |
July 6, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
FIFA says the Nigerian government has not indicated it will reverse a decision to ban the national team from playing, just hours before a deadline to withdraw the threat.
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke says he has no feedback from Nigeria that President Goodluck Jonathan is changing his mind. FIFA will suspend Nigeria from world football at 6pm because its rules forbid governments to interfere in football.
Jonathan said last Wednesday that the team should not play for two years in order to restructure Nigerian football after its World Cup exit from the first round.
On Sunday, Nigeria's Football Federation overhauled its leadership and apologized for the poor state of its national team in a last-minute bid to reverse a directive suspending it from international matches.
President Goodluck Jonathan imposed the suspension following the embarrassing performance by the Super Eagles in the World Cup. The team was knocked out in the first round after failing to win a game.
A communique from an emergency NFF executive committee meeting on Saturday said: "We wish to passionately appeal to the president to reconsider the earlier decision." The committee fired its top two leaders and offered an "unreserved apology" to the West African nation's 140 million citizens for the national team's failures.
"The leadership of the present NFF executive committee should be held responsible for the current crisis in Nigerian football," the committee said.
The Nigerians haven't won a World Cup match since 1998 and failed to qualify for the 2006 tournament.
FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke says he has no feedback from Nigeria that President Goodluck Jonathan is changing his mind. FIFA will suspend Nigeria from world football at 6pm because its rules forbid governments to interfere in football.
Jonathan said last Wednesday that the team should not play for two years in order to restructure Nigerian football after its World Cup exit from the first round.
On Sunday, Nigeria's Football Federation overhauled its leadership and apologized for the poor state of its national team in a last-minute bid to reverse a directive suspending it from international matches.
President Goodluck Jonathan imposed the suspension following the embarrassing performance by the Super Eagles in the World Cup. The team was knocked out in the first round after failing to win a game.
A communique from an emergency NFF executive committee meeting on Saturday said: "We wish to passionately appeal to the president to reconsider the earlier decision." The committee fired its top two leaders and offered an "unreserved apology" to the West African nation's 140 million citizens for the national team's failures.
"The leadership of the present NFF executive committee should be held responsible for the current crisis in Nigerian football," the committee said.
The Nigerians haven't won a World Cup match since 1998 and failed to qualify for the 2006 tournament.
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