The State Football Association elections - danger ahead
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- Category: Sports
- Written by ODEGBAMI ON SATURDAY olusegunodegbami@hotmail.com segunodegbami@hotmail
- Hits: 803
Last week, we received in the Ogun State FA an email from the NFA Secretariat. Attached to it is a document titled ‘Statutes for State Football Association 2010’. There was an accompanying letter. It directed States to start preparation to conduct their elections into the State Executive boards. We learnt from a few of our colleagues that received a similar letter that they were told to endorse the statutes and send back to the NFA for approval so that they can be used for State FA elections.
To start with, there is nothing wrong with the secretariat of the NFA sending draft statutes and electoral guidelines to State FAs for their consideration and possible adoption as their operating document particularly in an environment such as we have now where very few states have proper existing statutes and electoral codes that they can call their own. The intention to have a uniform statute and electoral guideline for elections for State FA and other members of the NFA.For the umpteenth time let me state the following: Every State FA is an entirely independent member of the NFA. It is just another body in the membership of the NFA. Other members include the Coaches Association, the Referees Association, the Players Association, the Premier League, the Amateur league, and so on. There are others that also need to be re-admitted in realisation of their relevance in grassroots football development, like the Nigeria School Sports Federation, the bodies responsible for Tertiary institutions, the armed forces, football academies, and so on.
A State FA is independent to the point that its internal affairs are sacrosanct to it and shall not be interfered with by any third party or external influence including the NFA! That is unalienable. It is an untouchable right entrenched in NFA, CAF and FIFA Statutes. Can the illegal executive board of the NFF not understand this? A State FA is a creation of the State government. It has a relationship of affiliation only with the NFA. It pays the NFA an annual affiliation fee to be a member of the NFA. The NFA gives it guidelines in line with those international bodies to which it is also affiliated - CAF WAFU and FIFA - on issues specific to their competitions and laws of the game to which it must adhere. For example, how we run our administrative activities in Ogun State (and in any State for that matter) is entirely our business. Election into our State FA board is entirely our internal affair. Who runs, when we run, how we run, who we appoint or elect, are all our business. Like other members of the NFA, these are exclusive internal matters. Or do you know, or have you ever heard that it is the NFA that tells the Players Association, or the Coaches Association, or the Referees Association, or the School Sports Federation, when, where, how they should conduct their elections? How come it has special interest in the elections into the State FAs? CAF, WAFU and even FIFA do not tell their members, including the NFA, when, how, where, to conduct their elections. That would be interference! You will never find the sort of clause the NFA have once again introduced to States FAs in any document of any of the international bodies to which the NFA is affiliated. Are the State FAs the only members of the NFA? Why insert such a clause in their own statute? FIFA and CAF and even the NFA, before the bastardisation of the NFA Statutes, have been very clear on roles and responsibilities of its members.
My advice to State FAs is that each State should study very carefully the Statutes sent to them and compare them to those of CAF, FIFA and even the NFF and design their own along the same lines but taking into consideration their own environment and peculiar social, political and economic situation. They should not adopt what the NFF have sent to them hook, line and sinker because the NFF have no powers to dictate to the States how to run their internal affairs. They should consider the documents sent to them as proposed Statutes only. They should work on them, and expunge all clauses that infringe on their independence and rights. It will be great to have uniformity in the period of elections nationwide. This is what the present crisis now presents Nigerian football, but it is not a law and cannot be sacrosanct and inserted in the statutes.
This is the way to go to cleanse Nigerian football once and for all:
Each State shall determine the members that qualify, are or will be accepted into its association.
Each of the bodies should conduct their own elections based on their constitutions and appoint their leadership.
The General Assembly of the State FAs can then be constituted as laid down in their Statutes.
The General Assembly or State Congress shall then conduct their own election to constitute their Executive Committee or board!
That way the NFA General Assembly or congress, made up of all the representatives of its registered members, shall be properly constituted by newly elected representatives from all State FAs and the different associated bodies that are its members.
NPL Sponsorship matter - none should cry or celebrate yet
The recent matter of sponsorship of the Professional Football League drew my attention. I followed the drama of the bids very closely. I have no comments on the process because it is hard to believe what I have read particularly how different the reviews are, depending on who is doing so.
What worries me are the following:
The unresolved issue of the legitimacy of the NFA and the NPL boards.
Should the final verdicts be in favour of the termination of any or both of the present boards, what happens to the actions taken by them now? The prayer before the Nigerian courts, FIFA and CAS is for the invalidation of the elections and the nullity of all actions taken by the boards.
I do not think we have heard or seen the last of the controversy. I believe there is still some drama that will follow the decisions of the courts and of FIFA very soon. Food for thought for all those that may think they have sown up a contract when they have legally not done so, with the unresolved issues pending in judicial bodies! No one should cry or celebrate yet.
Aminiya
The State Football Association elections - danger ahead
Category: Sports Written by ODEGBAMI ON SATURDAY olusegunodegbami@hotmail.com segunodegbami@hotmail Hits: 803
Last week, we received in the Ogun State FA an email from the NFA Secretariat. Attached to it is a document titled ‘Statutes for State Football Association 2010’. There was an accompanying letter. It directed States to start preparation to conduct their elections into the State Executive boards. We learnt from a few of our colleagues that received a similar letter that they were told to endorse the statutes and send back to the NFA for approval so that they can be used for State FA elections.
To start with, there is nothing wrong with the secretariat of the NFA sending draft statutes and electoral guidelines to State FAs for their consideration and possible adoption as their operating document particularly in an environment such as we have now where very few states have proper existing statutes and electoral codes that they can call their own. The intention to have a uniform statute and electoral guideline for elections for State FA and other members of the NFA.For the umpteenth time let me state the following: Every State FA is an entirely independent member of the NFA. It is just another body in the membership of the NFA. Other members include the Coaches Association, the Referees Association, the Players Association, the Premier League, the Amateur league, and so on. There are others that also need to be re-admitted in realisation of their relevance in grassroots football development, like the Nigeria School Sports Federation, the bodies responsible for Tertiary institutions, the armed forces, football academies, and so on.
A State FA is independent to the point that its internal affairs are sacrosanct to it and shall not be interfered with by any third party or external influence including the NFA! That is unalienable. It is an untouchable right entrenched in NFA, CAF and FIFA Statutes. Can the illegal executive board of the NFF not understand this? A State FA is a creation of the State government. It has a relationship of affiliation only with the NFA. It pays the NFA an annual affiliation fee to be a member of the NFA. The NFA gives it guidelines in line with those international bodies to which it is also affiliated - CAF WAFU and FIFA - on issues specific to their competitions and laws of the game to which it must adhere. For example, how we run our administrative activities in Ogun State (and in any State for that matter) is entirely our business. Election into our State FA board is entirely our internal affair. Who runs, when we run, how we run, who we appoint or elect, are all our business. Like other members of the NFA, these are exclusive internal matters. Or do you know, or have you ever heard that it is the NFA that tells the Players Association, or the Coaches Association, or the Referees Association, or the School Sports Federation, when, where, how they should conduct their elections? How come it has special interest in the elections into the State FAs? CAF, WAFU and even FIFA do not tell their members, including the NFA, when, how, where, to conduct their elections. That would be interference! You will never find the sort of clause the NFA have once again introduced to States FAs in any document of any of the international bodies to which the NFA is affiliated. Are the State FAs the only members of the NFA? Why insert such a clause in their own statute? FIFA and CAF and even the NFA, before the bastardisation of the NFA Statutes, have been very clear on roles and responsibilities of its members.
My advice to State FAs is that each State should study very carefully the Statutes sent to them and compare them to those of CAF, FIFA and even the NFF and design their own along the same lines but taking into consideration their own environment and peculiar social, political and economic situation. They should not adopt what the NFF have sent to them hook, line and sinker because the NFF have no powers to dictate to the States how to run their internal affairs. They should consider the documents sent to them as proposed Statutes only. They should work on them, and expunge all clauses that infringe on their independence and rights. It will be great to have uniformity in the period of elections nationwide. This is what the present crisis now presents Nigerian football, but it is not a law and cannot be sacrosanct and inserted in the statutes.
This is the way to go to cleanse Nigerian football once and for all:
Each State shall determine the members that qualify, are or will be accepted into its association.
Each of the bodies should conduct their own elections based on their constitutions and appoint their leadership.
The General Assembly of the State FAs can then be constituted as laid down in their Statutes.
The General Assembly or State Congress shall then conduct their own election to constitute their Executive Committee or board!
That way the NFA General Assembly or congress, made up of all the representatives of its registered members, shall be properly constituted by newly elected representatives from all State FAs and the different associated bodies that are its members.
NPL Sponsorship matter - none should cry or celebrate yet
The recent matter of sponsorship of the Professional Football League drew my attention. I followed the drama of the bids very closely. I have no comments on the process because it is hard to believe what I have read particularly how different the reviews are, depending on who is doing so.
What worries me are the following:
The unresolved issue of the legitimacy of the NFA and the NPL boards.
Should the final verdicts be in favour of the termination of any or both of the present boards, what happens to the actions taken by them now? The prayer before the Nigerian courts, FIFA and CAS is for the invalidation of the elections and the nullity of all actions taken by the boards.
I do not think we have heard or seen the last of the controversy. I believe there is still some drama that will follow the decisions of the courts and of FIFA very soon. Food for thought for all those that may think they have sown up a contract when they have legally not done so, with the unresolved issues pending in judicial bodies! No one should cry or celebrate yet.