NFF investigation claims officials may have swayed player selections for money

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has a fact-finding committee that claims some officials may have influenced player selections for Nigeria’s national teams for financial gain.

This allegation comes from a leaked committee report dated 21 August that was seen by PREMIUM TIMES.

The committee was set up after the Super Falcons could not keep their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title and failed to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. They looked into wider issues like administrative, technical, financial, and developmental problems in Nigerian football.

The six-member committee was led by Fanny Amun, a former NFF General Secretary. Other members include Desire Oparanozie, a former Super Falcons captain, ex-Super Eagles captain Mutiu Adepoju, former Nigeria U-20 coach Ladan Bosso, former FIFA referee Alex Mana, and Nasiru Jibril, who served as secretary.

The NFF announced this committee on 14 August. They said it would investigate the country’s poor performances in international competitions, especially the Falcons’ World Cup failure.

Among the issues looked into by the committee was how players are selected and invited to national-team camps.

The report claims that "some of the board members influence the invitation of players to the national teams locally and internationally."

It also said that "Team Coaches and Officials" could be involved in inviting players to national camps "for the purpose of having a source for financial gains."

Another allegation states that some board members, NFF management staff, and coaches might take incentives to influence decisions about national-team invitations.

It noted: "Allegations of Board Members, NFF Management Staff and Coaches taking incentives to compromise decisions in the build-up to national team camp invitation."

The committee did not name any individuals related to these claims. These allegations are not confirmed acts of wrongdoing either. In its final remarks, the committee urged the NFF to create ways to verify the issues in the report before taking any action.

These allegations are part of a larger set of problems identified by the committee. This includes unequal payments among members of national-team delegations.

The report mentions that "in a team delegation that comprises players, coaches, Management Staff of the NFF, and Board Members, Board Members and Management Staff are paid while the players and their officials are not paid."

The committee recommended that payments should be "well structured, equitable, and accordingly administered."

The findings come less than two weeks after the Super Falcons lost 2-1 to South Africa in the WAFCON play-off. This defeat ended Nigeria’s record of qualifying for every Women’s World Cup since the tournament started in 1991.

The committee also looked into claims of player influence but reported no evidence that individual players swayed team selection.

It suggested a clearer structure for national-team management, earlier preparations, better technical oversight, and selections based on fitness and performance.

Besides the Falcons, the report called for changes across the NFF, domestic leagues, grassroots development, coaching education, data management, and governance.

The committee concluded that any changes must go beyond just writing recommendations on paper.

It stated: "Advice should and must be practical, implementable, and should be the ones that show political will."

The NFF has not publicly stated how they plan to respond to the allegations and recommendations in the report.

PREMIUM TIMES reached out to the NFF Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire, for more information. Mr Olajire did not comment and suggested contacting the NFF Secretary General, Mohammed Sanusi. Attempts to reach Mr Sanusi were unsuccessful, as calls to his known number went unanswered.