What makes managing Nigerian football so mysterious?
Is the NFF Presidency a responsibility requiring extraordinary powers unavailable to qualified former footballers? Is the federation’s administration so complicated that experienced professionals who once represented Nigeria cannot understand its operations?
Certainly not.
Football leadership involves governance, strategic planning, financial discipline, delegation, personnel management, communication and accountability.
These are professional competencies acquired through education, training and practical experience.
A former international who has managed corporate departments, supervised employees, administered budgets or directed complex programmes should not be considered less capable because part of that individual’s journey began on a football field.
Equally, a qualified non-footballer deserves fair consideration.
One standard. Equal opportunity. Proven competence.
What follows is a practical examination of how professional management principles can strengthen Nigerian football.
1. Leadership Begins With Clear Responsibilities
The NFF President leads within the federation’s elected governance structure. The General Secretary directs executive administration within the authority assigned to that office.
These responsibilities are distinct.
In corporate terms, the President’s governance role is closer to that of a board chair, while the General Secretary performs functions comparable to those of a chief executive responsible for daily administration.
Neither office requires its occupant to perform every organisational task personally.
The President and governing bodies establish authorised policies and exercise oversight. Executive management coordinates implementation. Departmental directors supervise specialised operations.
A leader must understand where authority begins, where it ends and who is responsible for delivering results.
2. The NFF Is Not An Empty Office
Consider what happens when a new President or General Secretary assumes office.
Does that individual arrive at an empty building without employees, records, administrative departments or ongoing programmes?
Of course not.
The Nigeria Football Federation is an established institution with personnel responsible for technical development, competitions, finance, legal services, communications, administration and other operational functions.
The organisation exists before the incoming leader arrives. It should continue functioning after that leader leaves.
A new executive administrator inherits an operating institution, not an organisation that must be invented from the beginning.
3. The First Document: The Organisational Chart
One of the first documents I would request as an incoming executive leader is the federation’s approved organisational chart.
Who reports to whom? Which departments exist? Who heads each department? What authority has been delegated? Which positions are occupied, vacant or temporarily assigned? Where do departmental responsibilities overlap?
The organisational chart provides the initial map of the institution. It should be accompanied by departmental mandates, job descriptions, staffing records, budgets, performance reports and outstanding commitments.
The next step is straightforward: meet the departmental directors. Allow each director to explain the department’s responsibilities, achievements, current assignments, staffing requirements and unresolved problems.
Information should move upward from operational employees through supervisors and departmental heads to executive management. Authorised decisions and priorities should then move downward through the established reporting structure.
This is how an organisation is managed. There is no mystery in the structure.
4. The Departments Are Already There
The NFF has publicly identified an extensive administrative structure. Its publications across different periods have named the following personnel and functions:
- Technical Department — Augustine Eguavoen has been identified as Technical Director.
- Competitions — Ruth David has been identified as Director of Competitions.
- Finance and Administration — Rajan Zaka has been identified as Director of Finance and Administration.
- Legal Services — Okey Obi has been identified as Director of Legal Services.
- Media and Communications — Dr. Ademola Olajire previously headed this function before his August 2026 appointment as interim Deputy General Secretary.
- Marketing and Sponsorship — Alizor Chuks has been publicly identified with departmental leadership.
- Protocol — Barnabas Joro has been identified as Head of Protocol.
- Member Associations and Special Duties — Ali Abubakar Muhammad has been identified as a departmental director.
- International Competitions — Dayo Enebi Achor has been publicly associated with this function.
NFF publications have also identified Matthew Iyere in internal audit, Tasiu Riskuwa Shehu in ICT, and Dr. Terry Eguaoje in coaching education.
These are names recorded in published NFF materials from different dates, rather than a claim that every appointment remains unchanged today. The incoming administration should obtain the current approved personnel register and organisational chart.
But the larger point is established: the federation has people, departments, specialists and institutional responsibilities.
5. The Leader’s First Assignment: Understand Before You Change
An incoming leader should resist the temptation to reorganise everything before understanding what already works.
Meet the directors. Review departmental plans. Examine existing contracts, staffing, financial commitments and operational risks.
Identify competent personnel who can continue delivering. Where weaknesses exist, determine whether they arise from insufficient resources, inadequate supervision, unclear authority, obsolete procedures or individual performance.
6. The Motor That Must Keep Running
Consider a properly maintained vehicle. Its engine contains components performing different functions. No single component can substitute for all the others.
Regular servicing, lubrication, inspection and timely repairs help keep the vehicle operating reliably. Neglect the maintenance, and even a powerful engine can fail.
An institution operates on a similar principle. The federation’s August 2026 leadership transition offered a practical illustration of institutional continuity.
The engine does not need to be rebuilt every time a new driver takes the wheel. It needs competent direction, regular maintenance and responsible oversight.
7. RACI: Who Does The Work, And Who Answers For It?
Once the reporting structure is understood, management can clarify responsibilities using a RACI matrix:
- R — Responsible: The individual or team performing the work.
- A — Accountable: The authority ultimately answerable for the outcome.
- C — Consulted: Those whose input is needed before action.
- I — Informed: Those who must receive relevant information.
RACI does not replace the federation’s statutes. It clarifies responsibilities within them. Nobody should discover at the airport that an essential responsibility was never assigned.
8. RAID: Anticipate The Crisis Before It Arrives
Professional management also requires a structured register of risks:
- R — Risks: Possible future events that could disrupt an assignment.
- A — Assumptions: Planning expectations that require confirmation.
- I — Issues: Problems already occurring.
- D — Dependencies: Activities that rely on completion of other tasks.
A risk identified early is a problem that can still be prevented. Each significant item should have an assigned owner, response plan and deadline.
9. The Integrated Master Schedule: Plan Before The Whistle
Nigeria’s football calendar involves qualifiers, tournaments, camps, player releases, equipment procurement and financial deadlines. These should not exist in isolated calendars.
An Integrated Master Schedule (IMS) connects significant activities and their dependencies. If a deadline changes, affected departments can see consequences and adjust.
10. Financial Controls: From Budgets To Verified Payments
Every national-team programme should have a documented budget, identified funding sources, approved expenditure limits and clear payment obligations.
A budget describes what was planned. A financial record must establish what was actually done.
Finance personnel should maintain the records, while management enforces controls and governing authorities receive reliable reports.
11. People Management: Direct, Develop and Delegate
Situational Leadership suggests adjusting direction, coaching and delegation according to the employee’s experience and readiness.
A newly recruited officer may need detailed instructions. An experienced specialist may perform better with clear objectives and appropriate autonomy.
12. Measure Leadership By What It Delivers
The federation should establish performance indicators covering timely settlement of obligations, tournament budgets, competition milestones, resolution of contractual claims, audit recommendations, and progress in youth development and coaching education.
13. The First 90 Days: A Practical Leadership Plan
- First 30 days — Understand the institution. Review organisational chart, meet heads, identify liabilities and risks.
- Within 60 days — Establish priorities. Assign responsibilities, introduce reporting schedules, identify corrective actions.
- Within 90 days — Demonstrate progress. Report completed actions, improvements and challenges.
A capable President does not have to become the accountant, technical director and procurement officer. Leadership is not doing everything. It is ensuring that the right people deliver the right results under clear accountability.
Conclusion: The Final Test
Former Nigerian internationals have spent years in environments demanding discipline, preparation and teamwork. Some have subsequently built careers in corporate management, finance, law and business.
Their playing experience can provide insight. Their professional qualifications must establish their suitability.
The same examination should apply to qualified non-footballers.
Let candidates present their credentials. Let them explain their management plans. Let their professional records withstand scrutiny.
No mystery. No monopoly. No special privilege.
Plan the work. Assign the responsibility. Protect the resources. Measure the results. Hold the leaders accountable.
Former footballers have brains too. Their football careers should neither entitle them to leadership nor disqualify them from it.
Nigerian football does not need leaders who promise miracles. It needs qualified people who can manage, deliver and answer for their work.
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