The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), may not be able to endorse former Abia Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, in his bid to become the new FIFA president.
Although former Wimbledon star, John Fashanu, has given thumbs up to Kalu’s candidature, the NFF needs to endorse him before he can run.
However, section one of article 13 of the FIFA statutes, clearly specifies the criteria a candidate must meet before he is eligble to contest.
The article states: “the candidate shall have played an active role in association football (as a board member, committee member, referee and assistant referee, coach, trainer and any other person responsible for technical, medical or administrative matters in FIFA, a Confederation, Association, League or Club or as a player) for two of the last five years before being proposed as a candidate (cf. art. 24 par. 1 of the FIFA Statutes)”.
This means that the NFF cannot endorse Kalu, even if they wanted to, because he falls short of the stated requirements.
President of the federation, Amaju Pinnick, said he would meet with Kalu this week to discuss his presidency bid.
But that may be not yield any positive outcome, as the NFF’s hands are tied by the statutory requirements.
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