A former President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Alhaji Sani Lulu Abdullahi, has expressed the hope that the visit of the president of the world football-governing body, FIFA, Gianni Infantino, to Nigeria is an opportunity to sanitise the Nigerian football system.
Infantino and the new Secretary General, Ms Fatma Samoura, are being expected today in Nigeria, on a two-day working visit during which they will meet with President Muhammadu Buhari.
“We look at the FIFA President coming in as possibly an avenue to douse tension and sanitise the system; to give the government the true position of what it takes to run football and give cooperation to the world body,” Lulu stated.
According to him, the visit would afford the world football-governing body the opportunity of knowing the true position of the various crises rocking Nigerian football and possibly proffer lasting solutions.
“I want to believe that this is an opportunity for FIFA to come to Nigeria knowing the various crises that are on ground, starting from 2010, look at it critically and see how to give the desired advice to Nigeria, particularly to government,” the proprietor of FOSLA Academy, Abuja, said.
The former Director of Sports in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) added that “It is an opportunity for FIFA President to review what is on ground by going into the foundation of the system that has been rotten. It think if that is done, I want to believe that God will now be fully for Nigeria for us to take football to the highest level.”
Commenting on the drama generated by the appointment of Frenchman, Paul Le Guen as the Super Eagles’ technical adviser and subsequent rejection of the same by the coach, Lulu noted that it did not speak well of the country’s entire system.
He, however, advised that when contracting Le Guen’s replacement, the NFF should put its acts together and put in all its strength and go through the normal due process of recruitment.
“We heard that Le Guen is being contracted but a day after, we heard he refused the contract. It does not speak well of our entire system and I think we need to put our act together and be clear in pursuit of what we want to do. The more important thing is, if we want to engage a coach, we have to put in all your strength and go through the normal due process of recruitment,” he advised.