Nigeria May Miss 2018 WC Due to Power Tussle

Renewed crisis between the president of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick and Chris Giwa, is threatening the country’s 2018 World Cup chances.

Nigeria’s Supreme Court has announced that it’s reviewing the saga and will pass the final judgment on the leadership tussle soon.

Going by the information revealed by a close source on Sunday, anything contrary to FIFA’s ruling that recognizes Pinnick as the legitimate boss of the federation will attract sanctions from World’s football governing body.




Before the case got to the Supreme Court, Chris Giwa had lost at various levels; from the high court to the Appeal Court and the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) which dismissed his claims.

FIFA at the weekend banned Sudan and Guinea from all its activities following alleged government interference in the administration of their football. The same fate may befall Nigeria if the renewed court battle over NFF leadership is allowed to affect the administration of the game.



As things stand, Nigeria may be stopped from playing its remaining World Cup qualifiers against Cameroun (two matches), Zambia and Algeria if the apex court sacks the NFF leadership.

It should be recalled that Nigerian football has been embroiled in a leadership tussle since 2014.