Sports Writers Association of Nigeria calls for football governance reset

The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) has called for a fundamental restructuring of the country’s football governance. In an 18-page position paper presented to a joint FIFA/CAF Fact-Finding Mission in Abuja, SWAN President Isaiah Benjamin argued that the current leadership vacuum in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) offers a chance for an institutional reset rather than temporary administrative fixes.

The call for reform follows the resignations of NFF President Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, General Secretary Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, and several board members. Benjamin warned that conducting new elections under existing frameworks could repeat past weaknesses that led to leadership crises and governance disputes. He advocated for a framework that is democratic, accountable, commercially sustainable, and internationally competitive.

Additionally, SWAN is seeking to end what it describes as a 16-year exclusion of sports media from formal football governance. The association proposed structured media participation in stakeholder consultations and statutory recognition for the sports media constituency to ensure public accountability and institutional memory.