Nigeria suspended by FIFA for government interference
Yes, again.
Paul Gilham
For the second time in four years, FIFA have suspended Nigeria for government interference into football. FIFA has a long-standing policy that governments cannot interfere with football associations, and Nigeria has been found in violation of that policy on multiple occasions.
Because of their ban, Nigeria cannot play any international fixtures.
FIFA statement: "FIFA Emergency Committee has decided today to suspend the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) with immediate effect."
— Bryan Swanson (@skysports_bryan) July 9, 2014 FIFA suspends Nigeria Football Federation because of government interference. National team & clubs can't play any international fixtures
— Dan Roan (@danroan) July 9, 2014 The last time Nigeria were suspended by FIFA for government interference into football was back in October of 2010.
While this happens somewhat regularly, it’s unlikely that Nigeria are going to miss Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, unless things get really messy. Cameroon was suspended by FIFA just under a year ago, but had their ban lifted quickly enough that their World Cup qualification campaign wasn’t affected.
Even though this isn't likely to have serious affects on Nigeria's national teams going forward, it's yet another worrying sign that the African nation with the most footballing potential continues to struggle with corruption and organization in their FA.
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