FIFA and CAF begin screening candidates for the NFF normalisation committee
FIFA has approved a normalisation committee to run the Nigeria Football Federation until fresh elections, with a deadline of 31 May 2027. The Guardian reports that FIFA, CAF and the National Sports Commission have started screening candidates, with Chris Green and AbdulHakeem Uthman Mustapha named as front runners for chairman.
By Emily · 29 Oct 2026, 05:05 WAT
FIFA, CAF and Nigeria's National Sports Commission (NSC) have started screening candidates for the normalisation committee that will run the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), The Guardian (Nigeria) reported on Tuesday 27 October.
The committee was approved by the Bureau of the FIFA Council on Thursday 22 October. In a letter to the NFF's acting general secretary, Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme, FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafström said the members would be appointed jointly by FIFA and CAF "as soon as possible", the NFF says on its official website.
The committee will run Nigerian football until new elections to the NFF Executive Committee. Its mandate ends once it has completed its tasks, and no later than 31 May 2027. None of its members will be allowed to stand for the positions in the coming NFF elections. Until the members are appointed, the NFF secretariat continues to handle the day-to-day running of the federation.
According to a source quoted by The Guardian, two people are being screened for the role of chairman: Rivers United chairman Chris Green and AbdulHakeem Uthman Mustapha, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. The source said three women are also among the candidates, but did not know which roles they are being considered for. A senior NFF official told the paper that FIFA will announce the names publicly after consultations with the relevant bodies.
The step follows the mass resignation of former NFF president Ibrahim Musa Gusau, general secretary Mohammed Sanusi and the Executive Committee on 27 August, after the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup and the Super Falcons missed out on the 2027 Women's World Cup. That ended Nigeria's run of playing at every Women's World Cup since the first one in China in 1991, The Guardian notes.
Sources: The Guardian Nigeria — FIFA, CAF, NSC begin screening of candidates · Nigeria Football Federation — FIFA okays Normalisation Committee to run Nigeria football · Channels Television — FIFA Approves Normalisation Committee For NFF
