April 14, (THEWILL) – Amaju Pinnick, the president of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), has been offered a seat in the influential newly constituted FIFA Working Group on Normalisation Committees.
In a letter to Pinnick, the secretary-general of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Veron Mosengo-Omba expressed his trust in him, saying that his “nomination to this working group will positively contribute to the pertinent, and often essential role played by Normalisation Committees in support of federations and towards the fulfilment of good governance practices.”
Pinnick was elected to the FIFA Council in 2021, ousting Malawi’s incumbent Walter Nyamilandu. Pinnick, a vocal supporter of Infantino, is rumoured to be canvassing support for the FIFA president in Africa, circulating a template letter to his colleagues.
Pinnick has been in charge of the NFF since 2014, and although he has been accused of corruption numerous times, nothing has been conclusively proven to ruin his reputation and chances of becoming part of the Working Group.
However, with the Super Eagles of Nigeria failing to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar, there were further accusations against him for meddling with the squad’s affairs, triggering a call for his resignation by the local writers guild.
The Guild of Sports Editors, an umbrella association of sports editors from the country’s main media outlets, said: “The leadership of the current NFF has ridden on the back of Nigerian football to get to top positions in world football governing body, FIFA, to the detriment of the game.”
Pinnick has, however, assured the country of his intentions to leave the NFF presidency and not seek a third term at the helm of the football governing body of Nigeria and it is uncertain if this will affect the offer of a seat on the Working Group.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
