FIFA threatens to suspend Nigeria, Ghana

By Amon Katungulu | Tuesday, August 14, 2018
FIFA threatens to suspend Nigeria, Ghana
10th January 2018, Stamford Bridge, London, England; Carabao Cup football, semi final, 1st leg, Chelsea versus Arsenal; Alex Iwobi of Arsenal is under pressure from Ngolo Kante of Chelsea (Photo by Shaun Brooks/Action Plus via Getty Images)

FIFA on Tuesday threatened to suspend the Nigeria and Ghana football federations over government interference.

Nigeria will face the wrath of world football's governing body unless "the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) offices are not handed back to the legitimate NFF executive committee under President Amaju Melvin Pinnick", a FIFA statement warned.

Keep Reading

Nigeria put itself on a collision course with FIFA in July when the government's sports ministry directed the NFF to comply with a court order to overturn Pinnick's election and recognise Chris Giwa as its head.

The long-running dispute over who is in charge of the NFF dates back to 2014.

Topics You Might Like

News ban Ghana fifa Nigeria FIFA threatens to suspend Nigeria Ghana

Giwa first claimed to have won election to the top job.

However, FIFA did not endorse the vote and threatened suspension unless it was re-run.

Pinnick won the re-run, although the vote was also deemed to have been flawed. Giwa then launched court action over the result.

FIFA said the ban would only be lifted once Pinnick has confirmed the NFF is back under his effective control.

Ghana's problems stem from a corruption scandal engulfing suspended GFA federation boss Kwesi Nyantaki.

FIFA are on the warpath after the country's Attorney General ordered the GFA to be dissolved.

"If the petition to start the liquidation process of the GFA is not withdrawn" by August 27 the association "will be suspended with immediate effect", FIFA said.

FIFA statutes dictate that member states should "manage their affairs independently with no influence from third parties".

What’s your take on this story?

Join 80,000+ others on WhatsApp

Get Ahead of the News.
Stay in the know with real-time breaking news alerts, exclusive reports, and updates that matter to you.

Tap ‘Yes, Keep Me Updated’ and never miss what’s happening in Uganda and beyond—first and fast from NilePost.