The Super Eagles risks losing its place in the Russia 2018 World Cup line up in June if the Supreme Court ruled tomorrow against the FIFA-recognised Amaju Pinnick led board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in the case instituted by factional leader of the federation, Chris Giwa.
Giwa’s board took its case to the Supreme Court praying the apex court to set aside an earlier verdict by the Appeal Court affirming Pinnick as the right leader of the federation.
Before then, a Jos High Court had ruled that Giwa, who was elected by a disputed NFF congress at Chida Hotel, Abuja in August 2014, was duly elected president of the body.
Giwa’s group aver that Pinnick’s election in Warri in 2014 was null and void since it was conducted in defiance of a High Court order, arguing that the defendants cannot gain from disobedience of a court order.
But the defendants have held on to FIFA statutes to argue its case in the Supreme Court, pointing out that football matters must not be adjudicated in an ordinary court, while also insisting that the plaintiffs have been banned from every football related activity by FIFA.
Football stakeholders are worried that FIFA may ban Nigeria from all its activities, including stopping the Super Eagles from participating in June’s World Cup in Russia, if the case went against FIFA’s stance.
