Press Release
The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) has come down heavily on the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), accusing the football body of deliberate exclusion, maladministration, and dragging Nigerian football into irrelevance.
In a fiery statement issued Wednesday in Abuja and jointly signed by SWAN President, Mr. Isaiah Benjamin, and Secretary-General, Amb. Ikenna Okonkwo, the Association declared a total boycott of all NFF activities nationwide, including the forthcoming Annual General Assembly (AGA) slated for Ibadan, Oyo State.
SWAN condemned what it described as the “deliberate and persistent exclusion” of the sporting media from the statutory composition of the NFF Congress, calling the move “unacceptable, retrogressive, and an affront to the role of the media in national football development.”
According to the Association, the NFF’s leadership has continued to “play the ostrich” in crucial matters that would ensure football’s growth in Nigeria, while deliberately sidelining the very institution that amplifies and protects the sport – the media.
“The media is a critical tripod in the growth of sports globally. SWAN, as the professional body coordinating sports media in Nigeria, has consistently engaged the NFF leadership on the need to restore our rightful place within its Congress. Unfortunately, while claiming to expand its Congress, the Federation has chosen to sideline us, a move that is both short-sighted and detrimental to Nigerian football,” the statement fumed.
Despite repeated efforts by SWAN to foster cooperation since the current NFF leadership assumed office, the Association said the Federation has remained obstinate, adopting “divisive and destructive approaches” that continue to ruin Nigerian football.
The body lamented that Nigeria’s football fortunes keep deteriorating despite the huge financial and institutional backing the NFF enjoys from the Federal Government, state governments, and corporate sponsors.
“The continued decline of Nigerian football is a direct result of maladministration. It is time to put a decisive end to this dangerous trend. Nigeria cannot afford to watch its most cherished sport deteriorate under avoidable circumstances,” SWAN thundered.
In what amounts to a sweeping directive, the Association ordered all its members nationwide to immediately refrain from covering or publicising any NFF activity, starting with the Ibadan AGA.
To enforce this, SWAN announced it will set up a task force that will monitor compliance and also embark on a thorough investigation and public exposure of what it described as “the maladministration and backward practices that have become synonymous with the Federation’s operations.” The Association directly linked these practices to Nigeria’s embarrassing back-to-back failures to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.
SWAN insisted that the exclusion of the sporting media from the NFF’s Congress – the highest decision-making body in Nigerian football – is intolerable, warning that the days of silence and compromise are over.
“The Association stands resolute in defending its role as a critical stakeholder in the nation’s football ecosystem,” the statement concluded.
With this drastic move, the already strained relationship between the football governing body and the nation’s sports media appears to have finally hit a breaking point.
SPORTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA NEWS
Email sundayonuchukwu1@gmail.com
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