The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has denied reports circulating on social media alleging that it has called for the resignation of FIFA President, Gianni Infantino.
The Nigerian football governing body described the reports as an “outright falsehood,” insisting that it has neither asked Infantino to resign nor made any move to demand his removal from office.
The clarification comes amid growing controversy surrounding Infantino’s leadership of world football, with a number of football associations publicly expressing concerns over recent decisions and governance issues within FIFA.
However, reports from international media indicate that it was the Norwegian Football Federation, also abbreviated as NFF, that recently called for Infantino’s resignation. Norwegian federation president Lise Klaveness said the organisation no longer had the institutional trust required for Infantino to continue leading FIFA.
Klaveness’ position followed disagreements over FIFA’s proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise initiative, which was designed to involve private investment in the commercial management of future World Cup-related activities. The proposal was subsequently abandoned following criticism from several quarters.
The Norwegian federation has also raised concerns over other aspects of FIFA governance, including the organisation’s political neutrality and its handling of disciplinary and institutional matters. In June, the Norwegian FA backed an ethics complaint concerning FIFA’s decision to award its inaugural peace prize to former United States President Donald Trump.
The development appears to have contributed to confusion on social media, with reports referring to an “NFF” calling for Infantino’s resignation without clearly distinguishing between the Nigeria Football Federation and the Norwegian Football Federation.
The Nigerian federation has therefore urged the public and football stakeholders to disregard any report attributing such a demand to it.
Interestingly, the Nigeria Football Federation had earlier been reported to have backed Infantino ahead of the FIFA presidential election, alongside other African football associations.
The NFF’s latest statement consequently makes clear that Nigeria has not joined the Norwegian federation’s call for Infantino to step down.