FIFA partners NFF to actualise ‘Football Made in Anambra’ project

FIFA has said that it is committed to the actualisation of the ‘Football Made in Anambra’ project being initiated by the Anambra State Football Association.

In seeing to the actualisation of the project, which is initiated by the Dr Ifeanyi Ubah-led Anambra FA, the world football-governing body is to partner with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

In its bid to raise footballers from every family in the state, Anambra FA recently launched the project aimed at providing 50,000 footballers for 50,000 homes.

FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, who during his two-day official visit to the country during the week, hailed the initiative as a major developmental project in Nigerian football.

Infantino noted that the Anambra FA’s initiative if actualised would be of immense benefit to Nigeria, adding that he was happy that such project was coming from Nigeria.

“It is a very important project that the Anambra State FA is undertaking. We have discussed this with the chairman of the FA (Ubah) and you know FIFA is very active in the development of the game through the local association. We are going to embrace the project through the NFF.

“Whatever FIFA can do to encourage the project and even produce more than 50,000 players in the country will be done. This is exactly the direction we want to see the member associations to follow and we are very happy that such a programme is coming from Nigeria,” Infantino stated.

Meanwhile, Ubah, in his remarks declared that FIFA’s decision had energised the Anambra FA to move forward on the laudable project.

“We have taken Anambra State to FIFA and it has manifested in the visit of the FIFA President to Nigeria. Now that FIFA has keyed into the 50,000 footballers project of the Anambra State FA with the assurance that they will support us technically, I am so happy for this has gone a lot way to prove genuinely that the football made in Anambra project, is becoming a reality,” Ubah said.