Amaju Pinnick: NFF boss wants Infantino to consider Nigeria for FIFA tournament hosting rights

After hosting the NFF Awards, the NFF president has stated that Nigeria has the Capacity to host the World

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President Amaju Melvin Pinnick has stated that Nigeria are capable of hosting any FIFA event or program, football or otherwise.

The NFF President made the declaration on Tuesday, February 20, at the FIFA Executive Football Summit held in Lagos.

Pinnick said, “We have the capacity and we have demonstrated this on several occasions, and we have a Government that is doing everything possible to encourage and enable the blossoming of sport as a key industry. Just as the FIFA President himself said at the NFF Awards, football is life in Nigeria.”

 

The Summit, which was one of 12 FIFA Executive Football Summits planned for November 2017 and March 2018 and one of the cardinal programs of President Infantino, was attended as well by CAF President Ahmad, FIFA Secretary General Fatma Samoura, FIFA Council members Kwesi Nyantakyi of Ghana and Sonia Bien Aime from Turks and Caicos Islands, alongside presidents of 17 Member Associations of FIFA: Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, Somalia, South Sudan, Swaziland, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Turks and Caicos Islands, Denmark, FYR Macedonia, Lithuania, San Marino, Sweden and host country Nigeria.

The head of Nigeria's football body thanked FIFA President Gianni Infantino for his visit for the NFF Awards and FIFA summit which he hopes will turn around the fortunes of Nigerian football.

 “On behalf of the Nigerian Football fraternity, I want to commend FIFA for their strong support for our football and for African Football at large. Mr. Gianni Infantino visited Nigeria for the first time in his tenure in July 2016, and after he left, we witnessed a turn-around in the fortunes of our football."

"I believe that after he leaves this time, our football will soar even higher, with great possibilities of dazzling the world at the FIFA World Cup in Russia.” He said

Nigeria has participated at every FIFA national team football event, and hosted the FIFA Under 20 and Under 17 tournaments in 1999 and 2009 respectively.