Take Nigerian Football to Greater Heights, Sports Minister Tasks New NFF Leadership.

The Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, tasked the newly elected Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to improve all levels of football in the country.

Dare said this on Tuesday, in his office, at the Federal Secretariat, Abuja, when the NFF leadership paid him a courtesy visit.

The Minister said football is a national asset, a unifying force in Nigeria and the Federal Government, through his Ministry, is interested in its growth and development.

“I am happy to see that you have settled down to work as a team. I thank you for this courtesy visit and urge you to get down to business quickly with the enormous task ahead of you.

“You must move the game in the right direction, where all the genuine stakeholders want it to go. You have to hold crucial and critical conversations before you take crucial decisions. Let the nation’s interest be the first and most important consideration in all you do”, The Ministry said.

“As a new board, this is a new beginning. You have to move things to a higher level. If there are some areas of our football that are halted, then you must fix them, and if some areas are unbroken, then don’t try to fix them.

“I urge you to improve all levels of our football, build solid national teams, well structured, efficiently run leagues by improving their governance structures.

“This new leadership must be aware and sensitive to the issues that will lead to the growth and development of our football, and I promise that as a Ministry, we will continue to do our best to seek the right kind of funding for your programmes,” he added.

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Ismaila Abubakar, felicitated the new board and charged them to work with the Ministry to improve the game.

The newly elected NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau thanked the Minister for his backing and pledged, along with other board members, to work in the country’s interest.

Other members of the new NFF leadership on the visit country’s interest Rabiu Inuwa, Aisha Falode, Margaret Icheen, Rt.Hon Essien Udofot and the General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi.