The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) has demanded a comprehensive restructuring of Nigerian football governance, insisting that the current vacuum provides an opportunity for a fundamental institutional reset rather than another temporary administrative adjustment.
SWAN made the demand in a 18-page position paper presented by its President Mr. Isaiah Benjamin to the joint FIFA/CAF Fact-Finding Mission at Onomo Hotel in Abuja following the resignation of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau, General Secretary Dr. Mohammed Sanusi and board members.
“Nigeria does not require another cosmetic adjustment to its football administration. Nigeria requires a reset,” Benjamin said, urging stakeholders to reconsider the governance architecture from the grassroots to the NFF Executive Committee.
According to the media release signed by the Secretary-General, SWAN, Ambassador Ikenna Okonkwo and made available to journalists, the President warned that rushing into another election under existing structures could reproduce the weaknesses that have repeatedly triggered governance disputes, leadership crises and transitional arrangements in Nigerian football.
“The current leadership vacuum provides an opportunity to address the fundamental question of what governance framework Nigerian football requires to become more democratic, accountable, commercially sustainable, development-oriented and internationally competitive,” Benjamin started.
A major element of the submission is SWAN’s call for an end to what it described as the approximately 16-year exclusion of the sports media from formal football governance structures. The association said the media represents an important source of institutional memory, public accountability and stakeholder engagement.
The SWAN boss proposed structured media participation in stakeholder consultations and transitional or advisory arrangements, as well as statutory recognition of the sports media constituency within an appropriate electoral framework and representation in football governing bodies where permitted by applicable laws and statutes.
“The sports media is not merely an external observer of football; it is a permanent part of the football ecosystem and an important vehicle for accountability, development and commercial visibility,” the president argued.
“Representation must be meaningful, transparent and institutionalised, rather than dependent on informal access or patronage,” he said.
Beyond the NFF, the country’s sports writing body leader called for reforms across the football pyramid, urging State Football Associations to evolve into genuine development institutions while strengthening governance and licensing frameworks for the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) and youth football.
“Meaningful reform must extend beyond the NFF headquarters in Abuja to the grassroots, State Football Associations, leagues and every major constituency that contributes to Nigerian football,” Benjamin noted.
SWAN’s proposed roadmap includes a national governance audit, comprehensive stakeholder mapping, a FIFA/CAF-supported national football dialogue, statutory and electoral reforms, a review of Congress and Electoral College representation, appropriate transitional governance where necessary, a verified voters’ register, grassroots-to-national elections, independent supervision of the NFF election and binding post-election reforms.
The association supremo anchored its reform vision on Inclusion, Integrity, Representation, Accountability and Performance, urging FIFA and CAF to look beyond the immediate leadership vacuum and address the institutional foundations of Nigerian football.
“The objective should not simply be to restore an administrative structure and conduct another election, but to create a governance system capable of delivering stability, accountability, development and sustained international competitiveness,” he maintained.
“This crisis, while deeply concerning, also provides an opportunity for Nigerian football to undertake the structural reforms that have remained elusive for years and return the game to good governance,” he added.
