FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) will dispatch a senior joint delegation to Abuja on September 14 and 15, 2026, as they seek to address the governance crisis engulfing the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
Joint assessment mission planned for Abuja
The visit comes after FIFA ordered the immediate suspension of the NFF’s electoral process, with no restart date set. The instruction was contained in a formal letter dated 07 September 2026 and signed by FIFA Chief Member Associations Officer Elkhan Mammadov.
The two-day assignment will be a broad fact-finding exercise into the situation at the federation. The delegation’s final composition has not yet been confirmed and could be settled later in the week, but it is expected to feature officials from FIFA’s Member Associations and Governance departments, as well as the CAF Director of National Associations.
- The FIFA and CAF team will assess the NFF situation in Abuja on 14–15 September.
- The mission is expected to include round-table discussions with NFF administrators, significant congress members, the federation’s electoral committee and senior government officials.
Leadership changes trigger electoral uncertainty
In the same correspondence, FIFA and CAF named NFF Deputy General Secretary Emmanuel Ikpeme as their main liaison with the federation. The organisations said they were jointly examining the legal, governance, administrative and electoral consequences of recent events at the NFF.
Those developments followed the departures of former NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau, former General Secretary Dr. Mohammed Sanusi and several influential members of the Executive Committee.
The wave of resignations left the federation facing an administrative vacuum and brought preparations for the previously scheduled elective congress in Lafia, Nasarawa State, on September 27 to a standstill.
Mission follows Zurich consultations
The Abuja operation follows a consultative meeting at the Home of FIFA in Zurich on 01 September 2026. Representatives of the Federal Government of Nigeria, the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the NFF administration took part in that session.
Until the delegation arrives, Dr. Ikpeme will remain the designated contact person. FIFA and CAF have instructed him to manage the federation’s administrative matters and arrange the logistics required for the visiting officials.
FIFA and CAF stressed that the exercise is limited to gathering information and reviewing the applicable legal and regulatory structures. They also made clear that no action has yet been decided, including the possible installation of a normalisation committee or the imposition of sanctions.
