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NIGERIA FOOTBALL FEDERATION CLOCKS 60 IN FIFA FAMILY

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA

It is 60 years this Wednesday since Nigeria was admitted into the fold of the world’s football governing body, FIFA. It is a milestone that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is having along with Uganda and Saudi Arabia who were admitted provisionally on the same day as joint-87th members.

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File copy of FIFA’s letter to Nigeria conveying the provisional admission of the then NFA into the FIFA family

This anniversary is just one of the two that Nigeria football family will be having this year. Sports Village Square recalls that the second is the 70th anniversary of the composition of the Nigerian national football team, now called the Super Eagles.

The Super Eagles which began as the UK Tourists was first composed on June 26, 1949 when the names of 17 of the 18 pioneer national team members were first announced.

The 18th member, Okoronkwo Kanu (anglicised as Kanoo) was included on July 1, 1949. That was when the story of the Super Eagles began as the famed UK Tourists.

As for the NFF anniversary, the FIFA Executive Committee at its meeting on April 24, 1959, examined Nigeria’s application and admitted it along with Saudi Arabia and Uganda, as provisional member.

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Amaju Pinnick, the NFF president and Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA. Nigeria’s membership of FIFA hits a milestone this Wednesday.

This was contained in the May 1, 1959 letter sent to the then NFA by FIFA assistant secretary. It stated that the Executive Committee’s decision would have to be ratified by the Congress in Rome the following year.

The annual subscription fee was Swiss Francs 260, which the NFA was to pay by return of post to FIFA’s account with Union Bank of Switzerland in Zurich.

The provisional admission enabled Nigeria to enter for the football event of the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. Nigeria, however did not progress beyond the opening round of the African qualifying series, placing last in a Group 2 triangular qualifying league involving Ghana and the United Arab Republic (a short-lived political union of Egypt and Syria).

Nigeria lost 6-2 in Lagos and 3-0 in Cairo to UAR and also 4-1 to Ghana in Accra after a 3-1 win in Lagos.

When the FIFA Congress met on August 22, 1960, with 69 national associations represented by 153 delegates, Nigeria’s definite affiliation to FIFA was confirmed.

Nigeria became the joint 87th full member of FIFA with seven others. According to the minutes of the meeting,  the seven other associations that were admitted along with Nigeria are: Federation Royale Marocaine de Football, Federation Tunisienne de Football, The Football Association of Kenya, Sierra Leone Football Association, Uganda Football Association, Asociacion de Fenbol Aficionado de Puerto Rico and  the Malta Football Association.

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Nigeria’s full admission was conveyed through a letter dated September 6, 1960. However, no Nigerian delegate attended the Rome Congress.

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File copy of the FIFA’s December 6, 1960 letter confirming Nigeria’s status as full member.

A day earlier, according to the official history of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Nigeria, along with Morocco, Ghana and Tunisia, was formally registered as a full affiliate of the confederation at the General Assembly held in Rome.

The affiliation by FIFA enabled Nigeria to enter for the football event of the 1960 Olympic Games. The circumstances of joining CAF were basically the same, except that official records are lacking.

A former CAF president, Ydnekatchew Tessema, who was a co-founder of the confederation in 1957, once lamented the absence of foundation documents as the first general secretary, Youssef Mohammed, did not pass any to his successor, Mostafa Kamel Mensour.

The latter, who was in office at the time Nigeria joined CAF, in turn, did not pass any document to the third General Secretary, Mourad Fahmy the grand father of Amr Fahmy who was recently disengaged as CAF General Secretary.

Furthermore, the secretariat of Sudan Football Association, which housed CAF at inception till 1963, was damaged by fire and some documents, possibly including Nigeria’s application, were destroyed.

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The NFF which had variously held its meetings at 42, Broad Street; 4, Customs Street, Lagos; Onikan Stadium, National Stadium, Ogunlana Drive and since 1996 at Abuja has poor record-keeping facilities, a situation that possibly prompted former Secretary General, Sani Ahmed Toro, to recommend computerising the entire NFA records after he had a three-week attachment with The Football Association, England in 1991.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Guinea names Portugal’s Duarte as new national coach

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African Cup of Nations - Semi Finals - Burkina Faso v Egypt- Stade de l'Amitie - Libreville, Gabon - 1/2/17 Burkina Faso coach Paulo Jorge Duarte Reuters / Amr Abdallah Dalsh Livepic/File Photo

Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.

Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.

Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.

Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.

They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.

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-Reuters

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Veteran coach Van Gaal says he is cured of cancer

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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.

The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”

When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.

Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.

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He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.

-Reuters

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Like father like son, Davide Ancelotti becomes Brazil’s Botafogo manager

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Davide Ancelotti, son of Brazil's Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, has been appointed coach of Botafogo, the Rio de Janeiro club announced on Tuesday.

In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.

The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.

This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.

The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.

Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.

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As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.

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