$1.5 MILLION FIFA GRANT: YOU LIED, NFF TELLS AFRICAN FOOTBALL

ABUJA, Nigeria – The Nigeria Football Federation has described as lie a report in an African football website of Saturday, 7th January which claimed football’s world ruling body, FIFA has stopped a $1.5 million grant to Nigeria after seeing ‘traces of corruption’ and issued a so-called final warning to the NFF on financial management.

According to the NFf, nothing could be farther from the truth. “We have never received any information from FIFA talking about ‘traces of corruption’ in our submission with regards to the audit query of last year.




“The only information FIFA has provided to the NFF since the audit query is that they are keen to look at performance improvement areas in which FIFA and NFF might jointly work on going forward”, NFF said, adding that this same matter affects so many member associations in Africa, as a result of the new financial and governance reforms in FIFA.

“It is only in Nigeria that the issue has been sensationalized beyond normal. In any event, the query matter is being handled and we hope to sort out all matters within the shortest possible time so that we can put all these behind us.

“The NFF calls on all football stakeholders in the country to support the NFF in its drive to lift the game to a new pedestal, as negative stories and peddling of outright falsehood are capable of scaring away investors and prospective partners”, it said.