‘My target is to reposition global football’ -Pinnick

Newly elected member of FIFA Council, Amaju Pinnick, has promised to help reposition football globally.

Pinnick secured a seat in the FIFA Council defeating Walter Nyamilandu by 43 votes to eight at the Confederation of African Football’s 43rd General Assembly in Rabat, Morocco on Friday.

He becomes the third Nigerian to be elected into the council after Oyo Orok Oyo (1980-1988) and Amos Adamu (2006-2010).

The Nigerian Football Federation president also believes the victory will impact positively on Nigerians.

“I want to thank first, God Almighty, for making this a reality. “We worked and prayed for this. I want to thank the President, (Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), who stood 100 per cent by me from the beginning and was involved in all the diplomatic maneuvering behind the scenes. He ensured that it was done,” Pinnick said after the election.

“I also want to thank the sports minister, Sunday Dare; he was exceptional and nice. There was a lot of work that was done and of course my executive members and the congress, without them there would not have been Pinnick.

“We have been able to make history. It’s quite historic. This is the FIFA Council, its just 37 individuals in the world. It has opened doors for a lot of us,” he said.

Pinnick said his focus was to see how they can reposition football globally.

He stated that they also have to protect the CAF family and project them in the right direction being that they have a good leadership.

“And indeed to Nigerians now that I’m a member of the council it is a huge positive for the country,” he added.

NP/Confidence Okwuchi