The former General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Musa Amadu, has declared his intension to contest for the presidency of the country’s football governing body.
Addressing a world press conference in Abuja, Amadu said he had enough experience to build the future of Nigerian football. He also promised a robust cordial relationship with the Sports Ministry, private organisations and stakeholders to achieve his objectives.
“We are all partners. Government cares for the people. NFF cares for the people through football, everybody loves football,” Adamu said.
“We will maintain partnership and create an NFF/Government Liaison structure that is workable, as has been working in many countries that I have had the opportunity to visit and understudy. It is not rocket science. We just need to get it right.”
“I will need to use the experiences of the past in the present to build the future. So, I will need you all to be there for me, and I will listen. You will be my Committee of Elders, and it will be the first of its kind in our clime,” Amadu added.
With his campaign slogan, GETTING IT RIGHT ’22, Amadu said he would give life-defining experiences that will be unforgettable. He said he would go to the grassroots, work closely with the State Football Associations, and unearth the best talent in the game and give them a future.
“I will work closely with the State FAs to enhance the principle of sport and fitness in the schools, looking for the best talents not only on the playing field, but also in all other areas of football management and operations. We just need to get it right,” he said.
Amadu was however worried that with the array of Nigerian players scattered all over the world playing topflight football, yet the country’s football is still in the lower ebb.
“Why do we have almost 1,000 footballers playing in the top leagues in Europe all over and yet can only point to three AFCON trophies? Our players are doing well in their various clubs, Osimhen is banging in goals, so as Dennis, whose transfer fee is a staggering £20 million,” Adamu added.
“Ndidi is commanding the midfield, and Bassey is the young one we are all proud of. There are many more, yet we are not ranked as the top of the game in Africa. It is time to bring those glory days back.”
“I will set up a National Teams Management Board that will oversee all Team Nigeria matters beyond just the playing side of things, and bring back the glory days. Those days that we got used to while I was General Secretary, must come back,” he said.
“Our women, our girls, who have brought pride to our nation on and outside the pitch deserve better. We dominated women’s football in Africa for so long, so much so that we assumed it was our birthright. And now we have seen the reality, the reality is that the gap is closing on us.”
“We need to step up our game, and give women’s football what it is due. Not just for the Super Falcons, but the further development of women’s football in Nigeria.”
“We have to give local women’s football the funding it deserves and drive sponsorship towards our products, league and officials by engaging proven consultants with integrity,” Adamu concluded.
Amadu is the first person to publicly declared his intension to run for the president of NFF, with the elective congress scheduled for September 2022.
