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NFF budgets N7.5b for 2020 as Sanusi gets new five-year deal

By Christian Okpara
19 December 2019   |   4:15 am
The Nigeria Football Federatiom (NFF) will spend N7.5 billion on its activities next year, the board has revealed.

The Super Eagles will play their 2021 African Nations Cup and 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Benin.

• Eagles to play World Cup, Nations Cup qualifiers in Benin City
The Nigeria Football Federatiom (NFF) will spend N7.5 billion on its activities next year, the board has revealed. The federation has also disclosed that the Super Eagles will play their 2021 African Cup of Nations and 2022 World Cup qualifiers at the newly refurbished Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City.

In a communique issued after its executive commitee meeting in Benin on Tuesday, the NFF board said it has approved the federation’s 2018 financial statement and the proposed 2020 budget, which earmarked N7.5 billion as its total expenditure for 2020.

The federation also mandated the secretariat to ensure the publication ‘in at least four national newspapers, of the audited account of the federation for the year 2018.’

The NFF said it has resolved to work closely with the Ministry of Youth and Sports to ensure that the national teams qualified for their forthcoming championships. To this effect, it said it has mandated its president, Amaju Pinnick, “to meet formally with the Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare with a view to charting the right course on the matter and putting the project in hard focus.”

The draw for the second round of the World Cup qualifiers will hold at the Nile Ritz-Carlton in Cairo, Egypt on January 21, 2020.

The NFF rued the unimpressive outing of the U17 and U20 national teams in global championships this year, as well as the non-qualification of the Super Falcons and the U23 men team for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

It, therefore, resolved, “henceforth, players, coaches and backroom staff of national teams would be tasked to work much harder in their different positions to bring honour to the country from any international match/championship.”

In what appears a move to curb Nigeria’s incessant failures in international beach soccer competitions, the NFF resolved to put on hold the country’s participation in international beach soccer “tournaments until such a time that certain benchmarks, most importantly the creation and sustenance of a beach soccer league in the country, are met.”

To this end, the federation has set up a five-man committee, headed by chairman of the organizing committee, Seyi Akinwunmi, and including Mallam Shehu Dikko, Alh. Ahmed Yusuf ‘Fresh’, Chief Felix Anyansi-Agwu and Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, “to determine the modalities and guidelines, and to encourage states wishing to launch full-steam beach soccer leagues and compete among themselves or internationally.”

In an move, which it said would ensure stability in its administration, the federation approved a fresh five-year contract for its General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, “with effect from January 1, 2020, while a four-year contract (with the first year being probationary) was approved for the Deputy General Secretary, Dr. Emmanuel Ikpeme.”

Explaining the decision to take the Super Eagles’ qualifiers to Benin, NFF President, Pinnick said: “Benin is a historic city and you cannot talk about Nigerian football without talking about Edo State.

“At a time we had five (Nigeria) Premier League clubs from Benin City – Flash Flamingoes, Bendel United, Bendel Insurance all these clubs were in Benin and they paraded most of the Super Eagles players, so football is coming home and that’s why we are bringing the first World Cup qualifying match to Benin City.”

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