The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has moved to distance itself from reports claiming it wants FIFA president Gianni Infantino to leave his position, saying the federation has never made such a request and is not making one now, Footynaija.com reports.
The clarification comes at a time when Infantino is facing one of the biggest challenges to his leadership since becoming FIFA president. The Norwegian Football Federation publicly called for his resignation on Friday, with its president Lise Klaveness saying there had been a loss of trust in his leadership.
Norway’s position followed a wider dispute over FIFA’s proposed commercialisation of part of the World Cup’s future commercial rights through the FIFA Forward Enterprise plan. The proposal was eventually abandoned, but the row has opened a much wider debate about how FIFA is being run and how major decisions are made.
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That situation has also produced different reactions across the football world. While some European federations and prominent figures have criticised Infantino, other football authorities have continued to support him. CAF, for example, has backed the FIFA president, showing that there is no united position among the game’s governing bodies.
It is against that background that reports claiming Nigeria had also called for Infantino’s resignation began attracting attention. The NFF, however, has now made it clear that Nigeria should not be included in that list.
NFF denies calling for Infantino to resign
In a notice published through its official channels, the NFF directly rejected the reports and said it has never asked Infantino to step down as FIFA president.
“Contrary to reports, especially on social media, @thenff has never asked and is not asking for @FIFAcom President, Mr. Gianni Infantino to step down as FIFA PRESIDENT,” the federation stated.
The NFF described the claim as “outright falsehood” and told the public to disregard it.
The timing of the clarification is worth noting. Norway’s call for Infantino’s resignation is genuine and has been widely reported, but that does not mean every report connecting other national federations to the issue is accurate.
For Nigeria, the position is that the NFF has not joined Norway’s call, nor has it announced any campaign against Infantino.
Infantino, meanwhile, remains at the centre of a growing debate over FIFA’s leadership. Alongside the Norwegian federation’s demand, former FIFA presidential candidate Luis Figo has also called for the FIFA president to resign.
