Yemi Idowu, the football investor, philanthropist and owner of Nath Boys Football Academy, has urged a fundamental restructuring of Nigerian football, arguing that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) should not be responsible for domestic leagues or youth development.
Call for a new football structure
Speaking about the administrative problems and Nigeria’s recent difficulties on the international stage, Idowu said the country’s centralised model was not capable of delivering lasting progress. He is also a member of the 10-Year Football Master Plan Committee.
He advocated a firm division between the management of international football and the running of domestic competitions. Idowu also insisted that national leadership should be determined by ability and experience rather than regional quota arrangements.
In his view, the NFF is a geographically constructed federal institution rather than a genuine legal football entity. He said football must be organised on merit, warning that arguments over whether it is the turn of the North or South belong to geopolitics, not the sport. International and local football, he added, should be handled separately, as should political considerations and sporting merit.
Grassroots pathway
Idowu questioned the practice of forming age-group national teams through brief selection camps when there are no consistent competitions at home. He said strong national sides could not be produced without a functioning grassroots system operating through local governments.
He asked how Nigeria could compete in an African Under-17 tournament without first running a national Under-17 competition, and how that national event could exist without equivalent state and local-government leagues. Gathering players in Abuja for four weeks, he argued, could not produce a different outcome. He also challenged the system to identify a 16-year-old Nigerian playing regularly on a full-size pitch every week.
Idowu said player development should progress through a defined ladder: local government competition, then state level, followed by regional contests and finally national football. He further maintained that those in leadership should have practical backgrounds in owning teams, managing players or actively taking part in the game.
Domestic league proposal
Turning to the difficulties faced by clubs, Idowu said the existing nationwide league format, played over a full season, was financially unsustainable because of expensive travel and inadequate transport infrastructure.
He proposed dividing the regular season into regional competitions before staging a national tournament in a more concentrated setting. His argument was that clubs should not spend vital resources travelling and paying for accommodation throughout the year at the expense of player and coaching salaries.
Under his plan, teams would qualify through local competitions and then meet at one central venue for a four-week national event modelled on the format of the World Cup. This, he said, would prevent transportation costs from consuming funds that should instead support players and coaches.
Master Plan implementation
Although he acknowledged failures in recent administration, Idowu praised the federal government for its financial support of sport. He said public funding allocated to the sector from 2023 through 2026 had exceeded the combined amount provided in earlier years.
He called on the authorities to stop sending the Football Master Plan’s proposals through unnecessary layers of review and to begin applying them directly. With stakeholders working together, Idowu said the structural changes could be put in place within 120 days.
