Nigeria’s players are pushing for a bigger voice in how the country’s football is run, but former Super Eagles defender Chikelue Iloenyosi believes that demand will carry little weight if the groups representing footballers cannot first agree on who should speak for them, Footynaija.com reports.
That issue followed the players’ representatives into their recent meetings with FIFA and CAF in Abuja, where the international bodies were assessing Nigeria’s football structure after the resignation of Ibrahim Gusau and the NFF Executive Committee.
The players’ position has become important because the reform talks are not only about replacing the people who left office. Different stakeholders are pushing for changes to the composition of the NFF Congress, board and standing committees, including stronger representation and voting rights for players, coaches and referees.
Related Post
But there has also been disagreement over representation within the players’ camp itself. The issue became particularly visible before the Abuja meetings when Harrison Jalla challenged the number of places allocated to the Players Union, arguing that footballers should not be given less representation than State Football Association chairmen in discussions about the future structure.
Iloenyosi reveals FIFA reaction
Iloenyosi was part of the delegation that met the FIFA and CAF officials alongside former Super Eagles captain Tijani Babangida and Jalla. He said the presence of different groups claiming to represent Nigerian footballers was noticed by the visiting officials.
“We must come together as players. We cannot continue to have different factions when we are supposed to be speaking with one voice,” Iloenyosi said, according to Sports247.
He added that FIFA encouraged the different interests within the players’ constituency to settle their differences and work together if they want to have a meaningful role in Nigerian football.
The comments come at an interesting point in the reform process. While there have been disputes over who represents the players, the different stakeholder groups did manage to present a common position on some of the bigger structural questions.
The players’ union, coaches and referees’ association agreed that representation and voting rights should be strengthened across the NFF Congress, board and standing committees. They also backed a normalisation process driven by Nigerian football stakeholders.
The Professional Footballers Association of Nigeria has separately maintained that the period of fragmentation among players is over, saying it now represents past and present professional footballers under one umbrella. That claim, however, sits alongside the concerns raised by Iloenyosi about the different factions encountered during the FIFA discussions.
