Ernest Osogbue.
Retired Nigerian international, Chikelue Iloenyosi, says he’s eyeing a spot on the incoming board of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, if the opportunity presents itself. The former footballer, who’s currently the chairman of the Anambra State Football Association, told a select group of sports reporters in Abuja, that it has become imperative for former players to have a say in the administration of football at the highest levels.
Following the recent failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, on the heels of a subsequent failure in 2022, there has been a growing clamor for ex-internationals to take over the running of football in Nigeria, as a way to improve the fortunes of the game in the country. According to this school of thought, the presence of Austin Eguavoen, Patrick Pascal, Victor Ikpeba, and even Iloenyosi, as the only former internationals on the fringes of the NFF, does not bode well for the game in Nigeria. People believe that these men, and other of their colleagues, should be at the highest decision making positions at the NFF, and drive the game in the right direction.
Iloenyosi’s intentions, therefore, have been met with a lot of positivity from his former colleagues, who according to him, have encouraged him. Incidentally, since the upcoming NFF elections were announced, there has been a clamor by football stakeholders, for the rules governing the membership of the NFF board to be relaxed. Most people say the current rules, effectively keep people with genuine love of the game out of the running, while allowing mediocres to populate the board, thereby leading to a situation where the wrong decisions are usually made.
It remains to be seen whether the membership rules will be tinkered with before the elections. In the meantime, Iloenyosi, maintains that he fancies his chances, while equally maintaining that it wasn’t a do or die affair for him to be on the NFF board. It would be noted, that former footballers, have found it difficult fitting into the current NFF system, Samson Siasia, Sunday Oliseh, Finidi George, Daniel Amokachi, and Austin JJ Okocha, have all made efforts to contribute to the growth of Nigerian football, but have mostly had their fingers burnt, as a result of difficulties inherent in the current arrangement. It remains to be seen what changes could be made to accommodate ex-internationals and to what extent, before the upcoming NFF elections.
