By Femi Atolagbe

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In a bid to rejuvenate the domestic league, Nigeria Football Federation has ordered a composition of board for the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), the Nigeria National League (NNL), the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) and the Nigeria Nationwide League One (NLO).

This was contained in a communique issued at the end of the Executive Committee of the Federation held in Abuja, the federal capital territory.

The Board charged the U17 Boys’ National Team (Golden Eaglets) to deploy its best efforts to come victorious at the Africa U17 Cup of Nations taking place in Algeria between 29 April and 19 May. 

 The communique added that the bronze-medal of the Flying Eagles at the Africa U20 Cup of Nations in Egypt was below-par, the Board exhorted the technical crew and the players to see it as a national duty to win the FIFA U20 World Cup for Nigeria when the tournament takes place in Argentina between 20 May and 11 June.

The board expressed satisfaction with the new positive spirit and winning mentality in the camp of the senior women national team, Super Falcons, which has seen the team win its last three international matches. With the bigger picture of the biggest-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup competition coming up in Australia and New Zealand this summer in mind, the Board admonished the technical crew to work even harder to give confidence to the players that they can indeed stand their own against the world’s best.

It stated that it will do even more to prepare the team for the big challenge with another grade A friendly match in Europe and a two-week camping in Australia before the kick-off of the tournament on 20 July.

The Board frowned at the recent results of the Super Eagles and the U23 Boys, and fully endorsed the NFF President’s position that the Federation will never beg any player to wear the nation’s colours.

It added that whoever is not motivated for one reason or the other to represent Nigeria should always be bold enough to state this at the point of invitation, saying the lackadaisical attitudes by any player will no longer be treated with kid gloves.

The Board assured that it remained very focused and working assiduously towards proactively and vigorously developing Nigeria Football from the grassroots, as well as providing adequate support and encouragement to the youth teams to flourish and produce players for the senior teams, and also to engender a conducive environment for the blossoming of a Football Economy that will, sooner than later, begin to contribute to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product.