๐๐ญ๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฃ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ข๐ถ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐. ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ข ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐บ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ด๐ฐ ๐ข๐ค๐ฒ๐ถ๐ช๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ, ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ข ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ฎ, ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ค๐ข๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐บ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ค๐ฌ๐จ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ.
๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐น ๐๐๐ฐ๐ธ๐ ๐ข๐ธ๐ผ๐ธ๐
I occasionally hear the argument that former footballers cannot run the Nigeria Football Federation.
That is a legitimate concern.
There will certainly be former players who are not suited to administration, just as there are non-footballers who may not be suited to it either.
I know for a fact that there are many former Nigerian players, both at home and across the diaspora, who already possess the education, management experience, judgment, discipline and sense of accountability required for serious football administration.
If I were advising any of these qualified former players โ someone with management experience, a solid educational background, a broad frame of reference, and a strong sense of responsibility and accountability โ I would not begin by asking how many matches he played for Nigeria.
I would ask for six things:
โข the NFF organizational chart;
โข the approved budget and financial position;
โข departmental responsibilities;
โข current staffing and key personnel;
โข current contracts and liabilities; and
โข the federationโs strategic priorities.
Then, with those facts in front of us, we can begin to make informed management decisions.
๐ง๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐๐ก๐ง ๐๐ข๐๐ฆ ๐ก๐ข๐ง ๐๐ข ๐๐ฉ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ๐๐ข๐๐ฌโ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐
One of the first management principles I would emphasize is delegation.
In preparing this management model, I deliberately looked at the current NFF setup โ the structure inherited and left behind by the immediate past leadership under Ibrahim Gusau โ because I wanted this discussion to be based on the NFF as it actually exists, not on theory.
Recent official NFF records identify leadership functions covering Finance and Administration, Competitions, Media and Communications, Legal Services, Marketing and Sponsorship, Member Associations, International Competitions and other areas. The Secretariat is presently being overseen by interim General Secretary Emmanuel Ikpeme.
An incoming leader therefore does not walk into an empty organization. He inherits departments, reporting relationships, contracts, liabilities, staff and responsibilities.
The first task is straightforward: understand what is already there, determine what is working, identify what is not, and manage from that reality.
The President is not supposed to personally prepare accounts, arrange every national-team trip, draft every contract, negotiate every sponsorship or issue every press release.
A practical approach would be to appoint competent professionals, delegate clearly, monitor performance and hold people accountable for the responsibilities entrusted to them.
The organizational structure should work like a pyramid. Information begins at the operational level, moves through departmental leadership and reaches senior management in increasingly condensed and useful form. Decisions then move back down with a clear owner, deadline and expected result.
The President also does not govern alone. The Executive Committee โ often referred to as the Board โ has governance responsibilities of its own. Its members should provide oversight, contribute expertise, challenge proposals when necessary and participate in major policy decisions within the NFF statutes.
Good management therefore requires a clear distinction between governance by the Board and day-to-day administration by the Secretariat.
The President should be dealing with significant decisions, strategy and relationships โ not chasing airline tickets.
๐๐ฉ๐๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ข๐ก๐ฆ๐๐๐๐๐๐ง๐ฌ ๐ก๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐ก ๐ข๐ช๐ก๐๐ฅ
I would introduce a simple management tool: RACI โ Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed.
Take a Super Eagles international match.
Who owns the logistics?
Who is ultimately accountable?
Who must Finance consult before spending?
When does Legal become involved?
Who needs to be informed?
Once those responsibilities are clearly documented, it becomes harder for five people to claim credit when something succeeds and nobody to accept responsibility when it fails.
The same principle applies to performance and money.
If Marketing has an illustrative โฆ5 billion commercial-revenue target, I want to know how much was targeted, how many proposals were submitted, how many agreements were signed, how much was contracted and how much cash was actually collected.
If Finance must close monthly accounts, give it a deadline โ perhaps 10 working days.
If Technical Development promises to train 500 coaches, report how many actually completed the programme.
Financial management should also include clear procurement rules, internal controls and regular independent audit. Every significant payment should have proper authorization, supporting documentation and a clear link to an approved budget or programme.
Management should always know the difference between:
โข what was budgeted;
โข what was actually received;
โข what was spent;
โข what remains available; and
โข what is still owed.
The figures are illustrative. The principle is simple:
๐ง๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ, ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ.
๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐๐ฆ
I would also require a simple RAID register: Risks, Assumptions, Issues and Dependencies.
Football administration is full of them.
A visa delay may be a risk.
An outstanding coach payment is an issue.
Stadium approval may be a dependency.
Expected funding arriving by a certain date may be an assumption.
Every significant item should have an owner and a target date for resolution or follow-up.
For major national-team campaigns and development programmes, I would also maintain an integrated master schedule showing critical milestones, deadlines and dependencies.
The President does not need to sit in front of hundreds of scheduling lines.
Management should bring forward the milestones that are threatened, explain why they are threatened and identify the decisions required.
A risk is something that may happen. An issue is something that has already happened.
๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฎ ๐ด๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฒ๐บ: ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐บ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐น๐ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ถ๐๐๐๐ฒ๐.
๐ช๐๐๐ก ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐ง๐๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐ก๐, ๐๐ฅ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ง ๐๐ก
No President should pretend to know everything.
If the NFF needs specialized expertise in television rights, commercial restructuring, forensic accounting, sports science, digital transformation, procurement or another technical area, bring in someone who understands it.
That may mean using a consultant.
Consulting can be project-based, short-term, retained or longer-term depending on the requirement.
But every engagement should have:
โข a defined scope;
โข an agreed cost;
โข specific deliverables;
โข a completion date; and
โข measurable value to the organization.
If a โฆ40 million consulting assignment helps create โฆ1 billion in additional commercial value, there may be a strong business case.
But if the consultant delivers a report that simply ends up sitting in somebodyโs drawer, what exactly did the organization gain?
The purpose of bringing in outside expertise should be to solve a defined problem, transfer knowledge where appropriate and produce measurable value.
๐ช๐๐ฌ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ง๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฆ
Playing football does not automatically make somebody a good administrator. But it gives a former player a frame of reference that someone who has never lived the game may not naturally have.
And sometimes, that is where the disconnect begins.
An administrator who has never been inside a national-team camp may look at unpaid bonuses, allowances or a coachโs salary and think, we will sort it out later.
But to the player or coach, it is not simply an accounting problem.
It affects the mind.
Think about preparing for a major international match while part of your attention is on money already owed to you. You are supposed to be concentrating on training, recovery, tactics and the opponent. Instead, you are also wondering when management will honor what it promised.
That can create:
โข anxiety and distraction;
โข loss of trust in management;
โข low morale;
โข frustration inside the camp;
โข reduced concentration; and
โข unnecessary tension between players, coaches and administrators.
The coach is not immune either.
He should be studying the opposition, planning training sessions, meeting with players and working out his tactical approach. If he has gone months without salary, are we really going to pretend that it has no effect on him?
Footballers and coaches are human beings.
If somebody working in an office goes months without being paid, nobody expects that person to carry on as though everything is normal. Why should football be different?
A former player does not need somebody to explain what an unsettled camp feels like. He has been there. He understands what uncertainty can do to preparation, morale and trust.
The same principle exists outside football.
A manager who once worked as a server in a restaurant may understand immediately how understaffing, delayed tips, poor scheduling or disrespect from management affects employees because that manager has lived it.
That experience does not automatically make the person a better manager. But it gives him a frame of reference.
And poor morale does not stop with the employee. The customer can feel it too. Service may become slower, the smile may disappear and the overall experience can suffer.
Football is not so different.
When players and coaches are distracted, frustrated or demoralized because legitimate obligations have not been met, preparation can suffer. Performance can suffer.
And eventually, the supporters can suffer too.
They may watch a team perform below its potential. Sometimes that may even end in defeat.
That does not mean every defeat is caused by unpaid bonuses or salaries. Football has too many variables for that.
But it would be unrealistic to pretend that morale, trust and peace of mind have nothing to do with performance.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ.
International exposure is an added advantage, not a requirement. What matters is understanding the game, understanding the people who play it and understanding the conditions they need in order to perform at their best.
That does not mean a non-footballer cannot understand player welfare or become an effective administrator. The standard should be competence, judgment, management experience and accountability โ regardless of background.
๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐ง ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ ๐ ๐๐ข๐ช๐ก ๐ง๐ข ๐ฅ๐๐ฆ๐จ๐๐ง๐ฆ
In the end, all of these systems must produce results โ and the leader must be willing to be judged by them.
Regular communication is part of that process. I would expect disciplined onsite and virtual meetings โ operational reviews where necessary, monthly financial and performance reviews, and periodic strategic meetings.
Not meetings for the sake of meetings.
Meetings should have an agenda, assigned actions, deadlines and follow-up.
If someone accepted responsibility at the previous meeting, the next meeting should ask one simple question:
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฑ?
The same principle applies to appointments.
If a coach is hired through favoritism instead of merit and the results fail, leadership cannot simply say:
I was not the coach. I was not the player.
If leadership approved the appointment and the process, leadership must also accept responsibility for the outcome.
Many Nigerian football supporters held Ibrahim Gusau accountable on that basis when results fell short.
If the team succeeds, leadership shares the credit. If the appointment fails, the responsibility still reaches the top.
๐จ๐น๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐น๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฝ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐-๐ฏ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ต๐ถ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐.
That is where another management principle becomes important:
๐๐ฏ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฆ๐น๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต.
Delegating responsibility does not mean walking away from it.
In my view, the process should be straightforward: set the expectation, assign responsibility, provide the resources, inspect the work, evaluate the result and hold the responsible person accountable.
And that standard must begin at the top.
A leader cannot demand punctuality and arrive whenever he chooses.
He cannot demand accountability from others while avoiding accountability himself.
๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ.
A degree matters. Business or management education can certainly help.
But years of managing people, projects, budgets, deadlines, competing interests and consequences can become an education of their own.
๐๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ด๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป. ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ป ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐.
So, having laid out the current NFF management roadmap, I would ask any former footballer contemplating NFF leadership:
Do you understand the organization? Can you manage the people and the money? Can you build the right team? Can you delegate? Can you lead by example? Can you be held accountable?
If the answer is yes, perhaps the question should no longer be:
๐๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ก๐๐?
Perhaps it should be:
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฎ ๐พ๐๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐น๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ถ๐ด๐บ๐ฎ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐?
๐ฃ๐ฎ๐๐น ๐๐๐ฐ๐ธ๐ ๐ข๐ธ๐ผ๐ธ๐
FIFA Legend | Former Nigeria Flying Eagles Vice-Captain | Former Super Eagles International | AFCON Silver Medalist | Football Historian | Football Analyst | Journalist-at-Large | Founder & CEO, Greater Tomorrow Childrenโs Foundation (GTCF)
