FIFA approves Nigeria football normalisation committee ahead of fresh NFF elections

FIFA has approved the creation of a Normalisation Committee to oversee the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and guide the organisation towards new elections. The decision was taken by the Bureau of the FIFA Council on Thursday, 22 October 2026, after months of uncertainty over the federation's leadership.

FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom confirmed the approval in a letter to NFF Acting General Secretary Emmanuel Ikpeme. The committee's members will be appointed jointly by FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as soon as possible.

The identities of those appointed, along with the full scope of their responsibilities, have not yet been disclosed. FIFA has instructed the committee to complete its work as quickly as possible, with 31 May 2027 set as the final deadline.

Its central task will be to administer the federation during the transition to elections for the NFF Executive Committee. No member of the Normalisation Committee will be allowed to stand for any position in the next NFF elections.

FIFA's restriction is intended to ensure that the temporary administrators remain separate from the process of choosing the federation's future elected leaders. Until the appointments are made, the NFF Secretariat will continue to handle the federation's daily administration and the routine running of Nigerian football.

Ikpeme has been acting as General Secretary since the previous leadership left office. The move follows the mass resignation on 27 August 2026 of NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi and other executive committee members.

Those departures came after Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while the Super Falcons also missed out on qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup. The leadership crisis interrupted plans for the NFF elective congress, which had been scheduled for 27 September in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

The electoral process was suspended while consultations took place with FIFA and CAF. A joint delegation from the two organisations travelled to Nigeria in September to meet stakeholders and examine possible solutions.

The discussions focused on governance reforms and creating a framework to stabilise the federation before elected leadership could be restored. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu subsequently called for comprehensive reforms across Nigerian football.