Nigeria escapes sanctions from both Government and FIFA
FIFA has decided not to impose sanctions on the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) after the country’s president Goodluck Jonathan reversed his decision to ban the national team from international competitions.
Last week, the Nigerian president was so angered by Nigeria’s poor performance at the World Cup that he banned the team from competing internationally for two years. FIFA threatened to suspend the Nigerian football federation because of Government interference. President Jonathan was given until yesterday evening to reverse his decision, which he did in a letter to FIFA just before the deadline at 6 pm.A statement on the NFF website said: "The President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan (GCFR) on Monday graciously rescinded last Wednesday’s decision to withdraw Nigerian national football teams from FIFA/CAF football competitions.The NFF reportedly managed to persuade Jonathan to rescind the ban by sacking nine officials, including NFF president Sani Lulu and vice-president Amanze Ugbulam, on Sunday, writes World Football Insider. SOURCE: World Football Insider