Post-Gusau’s NFF Era: State FAs also need scrutiny

Everybody who closely follows the activities of football in Nigeria is fully aware that the game is in a serious mess.

This unfortunate situation is largely connected to the way the sport has been handled and administered over the years.

Almost nothing appears to be working as it should, and this has left millions of Nigerians deeply disappointed and frustrated.

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From one crisis to another, the country continues to experience one disappointment after another, raising serious questions about the leadership, administration and overall direction of Nigerian football.

That is why the situation calls for urgent and fundamental reforms if the country’s football is to regain its lost glory and restore the confidence of its millions of supporters.

To truly sanitise and reposition Nigerian football following the end of the Ibrahim Gusau-led Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) era, attention must not stop at the federation itself.

The State Football Associations (FAs) must also come under thorough scrutiny, because they remain a critical part of the country’s football administration structure.

There is an urgent need to examine their leadership, finances, electoral processes, accountability, talent-development programmes and overall contribution to football development.

Many of the problems affecting Nigerian football at the national level are also rooted in the way the game is administered at the state level.

Therefore, any genuine attempt to reform Nigerian football must extend to the State FAs.

Their structures, leadership and operations should be subjected to greater transparency, accountability and proper oversight.

Only by addressing weaknesses at both the national and state levels can the country build a football administration that is credible, development-oriented and capable of restoring confidence in the game.

For sure, most State Football Associations are not doing enough to fulfil their responsibility of developing football at the state and grassroots levels.

Instead of concentrating on talent identification, youth development, grassroots competitions, coaching development and creating opportunities for young players, some appear more interested in wielding power and displaying authority, as though the associations were their personal properties. This unhealthy attitude has hindered football development in many states.

Football administration should not be about personal influence, political control or the accumulation of power; it should be about service, development and creating opportunities for players, coaches, referees, clubs and other stakeholders.

If Nigerian football is to experience genuine reform in the post-Gusau era, the State FAs must therefore be subjected to the same level of scrutiny, accountability and reform being demanded at the national level.

Just as the NFF has been accused of sidelining many of its key stakeholders, a similar pattern appears to be playing out within several State Football Associations across the country.

In many states, important stakeholders, including clubs, club owners, referees, coaches, players and other football development groups, are allegedly excluded from meaningful decision-making processes.

More worrying is the conduct of some State FA chairmen who, having remained in office for years, appear to have outlived their usefulness.

Rather than focusing on developing the game, identifying young talents and strengthening grassroots football, some are accused of using their positions to intimidate or frustrate clubs and club owners who do not belong to their camp or enjoy their favour.

This kind of leadership undermines the very purpose for which State Football Associations exist. An FA chairman should be a servant of the game, not its overlord.

Clubs and other stakeholders should be treated as partners in development, not as subjects who must submit to the personal authority of the chairman or its secretary.

If the post-Gusau reform is to bring meaningful change to Nigerian football, the spotlight must also be turned on the State FAs.

Their leadership structures, electoral processes, financial management and treatment of stakeholders must be subjected to proper scrutiny.

To me, without reform at the state level, any attempt to sanitise Nigerian football at the national level will remain incomplete.

Most State Football Associations also appear to be failing in one of their most fundamental responsibilities: organising regular league competitions that provide a pathway for clubs and players to develop.

In many states, Premier, Division One, Division Two, Division Three and even Division Four league competitions are either poorly organised, irregular or completely neglected.

This is particularly troubling given that clubs are required to pay substantial sums for annual registration and other administrative fees with nothing to show.

Stakeholders therefore have every right to demand accountability and ask how these funds are being utilised when the competitions for which clubs register are not properly organised. State FAs should not exist merely as registration and administrative bodies.

They are expected to create a competitive football structure from the grassroots through the lower divisions and ultimately to the state’s premier league.

Without regular competitions, young players have limited opportunities to gain competitive experience, clubs struggle to develop, coaches and referees lose valuable platforms to improve, and the entire football ecosystem suffers.

If clubs are paying registration fees every year, they deserve to see those payments reflected in properly organised competitions, credible administration and meaningful football development.

State Football Associations also need to be held accountable for failing to fulfil their statutory obligations, particularly the regular conduct of Annual General Meetings (AGMs).

In many cases, AGMs are either not organised as regularly as required or are conducted without providing stakeholders with the level of financial transparency they deserve.

Even when some of these meetings are held, the presentation and consideration of key financial documents, including the annual budget and the previous year’s financial or audited statement, are mostly skipped or given little attention.

This raises serious questions about accountability and transparency in the management of football resources at the state level.

An AGM should not be treated as a mere formality. It is an important platform where stakeholders can assess the activities of the association, scrutinise its finances, consider and approve plans and budgets, raise concerns and hold the leadership accountable.

Where such mechanisms are weakened, administrators can operate with little or no meaningful oversight.

Therefore, as efforts are made to reform Nigerian football after the Gusau era, State FAs must not be overlooked.

Their compliance with applicable statutes, financial accountability, electoral processes, organisation of competitions and treatment of stakeholders should all be thoroughly examined.

I suggest that, if possible, the normalising management should deploy independent auditors to all the State Football Associations across the federation to conduct a comprehensive review of their financial and administrative activities.

The exercise should establish how football resources are being managed, how registration fees and other revenues are utilised, and whether the associations are complying with their statutes and financial obligations.

Such an audit would help identify any irregularities, financial mismanagement or administrative practices that may be undermining football development at the state level.

It would also provide a clearer picture of how the system is being operated across the various states and help the normalization administration determine areas requiring urgent reform.

The objective should not be to witch-hunt individuals or settle political scores. Rather, it should be to restore accountability, transparency and professionalism to football administration at every level.

The sanitisation of Nigerian football must go beyond the NFF headquarters; it must extend to every State FA if the reform is to be meaningful and sustainable.

Some State Football Associations, especially in the northern part of the country, do not hold regular association meetings where important matters affecting the game are discussed collectively.

In many cases, the chairman appears to have the final say on virtually everything. Whatever the chairman decides often becomes the position of the association, regardless of whether other members have been consulted.

This weakens accountability, transparency and collective decision-making.

The states are the foundation of grassroots football, and if that foundation is weak, no reform at the national level can deliver the desired transformation.