The National Association of Nigeria Professional Footballers (NANPF) has accused the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) of preventing its elected leadership from meeting visiting FIFA and CAF delegations, alleging that the action undermined the representation of active Nigerian professional footballers.
In a statement issued in Abuja, and made available to VVCWATCh on Tuesday, NANPF said its General Secretary, Comrade Austin Popo, had his accreditation revoked and replaced at the last minute, preventing him from participating in discussions on players’ welfare, working conditions and football governance.
The union described the development as a serious concern, arguing that elected representatives of active players should have direct access to international football governing bodies whenever issues affecting their members are under consideration.
According to NANPF, the NFF instead accredited a number of former footballers whom it said were not representatives of the union and did not have a mandate to speak for active players in the domestic leagues.
“A players’ union is not the private property of ex-players,” NANPF said, stressing that although retired footballers could contribute to football administration, the primary responsibility of a players’ union was to protect the interests and rights of active professionals.
The union alleged that the individuals selected by the NFF were chosen through political patronage and personal relationships rather than through a legitimate union mandate. It challenged those presented as player representatives to identify policies or interventions they had undertaken in the previous two years to improve the welfare of active players.
Despite what it described as the denial of access, NANPF said it succeeded in submitting a 90-page dossier directly to the FIFA delegation. The document, according to the union, contained details of its affiliation status, operational history, player testimonies, welfare interventions and proposals for changes to football governance.
NANPF said direct engagement with FIFA and CAF was important because decisions by the international bodies could have significant implications for the rights, working conditions and professional futures of Nigerian footballers.
The association further argued that excluding organised labour from football governance could frustrate efforts to achieve lasting industrial peace in the sport, insisting that genuine reform required “truth, accountability and justice.”
NANPF called on the NFF leadership to reconsider what it described as a hostile approach to the players’ union and embrace what it termed transparent engagement as part of efforts to improve football governance.
The association said it remained committed to representing active Nigerian professional footballers and defending their interests within the country’s football administration.
