President Muhammadu Buhari has stated that his administration is committed to using football as a tool for the development of girls and to encouraging young people to pursue rewarding careers in the sport.
He also stated that his government has viewed sports as a national asset for the past four years.
While receiving the FIFA delegation led by its President, Gianni Infantino, and the President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Patrice Motsepe, in audience at the State House in Abuja on Thursday, the President called on the top echelon of the world football governing body to see Nigeria as one of its greatest assets when it comes to the development of football.
On the subject of women’s football, President Buhari expressed his delight at the fact that Nigeria has produced excellent role models to encourage the next generation of stars to take up the sport.
“Our national women’s football team, the Super Falcons, are a force to be reckoned with, both on the continent and globally,” he said. Some of our female footballers, such as Asisat Oshoala, who with her club Barcelona recently became the first African to win the women’s European Champions League.
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“Rasheedat Ajibade, Rita Chikwelu, Onome Ebi, the only African to appear in five FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals, Desire Oparanozie, and Perpetual Nkwocha, Mercy Akide-Udoh, Nkiru Okosieme, and Ann Chiejiene are globally recognized stars.”
As a result, Buhari urged FIFA’s leadership to prioritize Nigeria in its support and investment plans.
He also told the visiting FIFA president, who was in the country for the six-nation Aisha Buhari Invitational Football Tournament, that football had been adopted as a national asset by his administration since 2017.
The government is giving sport the highest level of attention possible, according to the President, in order to facilitate the rapid development of the country’s abundant talents.
“I’ve also given my approval to the formation of a committee to draft a 10-year master plan for the country’s football development. I believe that the committee’s recommendations will hasten the development of football. It is my hope that it will help to improve the game’s fortunes on a global scale,” he said.
President Buhari said the Aisha Buhari Cup (ABC), which is currently taking place in Lagos and has the theme “Playing for Good,” could not have come at a better time.
“This Women’s football competition is a novel idea here,” he says, “and I am sure it will be exciting in its execution for our female folk and football fans.” It also confirms what we already know about our female counterparts.”
As a result, the President thanked FIFA for making ABC a ranking tournament, and expressed his hope that more countries would join in the future.
“Our hearts beat as one whenever our teams are playing a football match,” Buhari said, describing football as one of the greatest sources of unity in the country and around the world. When our national football teams are on assignment, our youth are always enthusiastic. Football is, without a doubt, a major tool for national unity.”
He praised the organization’s significant contributions to the development of football as a tool for positive social change and global unity.
The president expressed support for FIFA’s newest initiative, the FIFA Connect program, which aims to use technology to drive grassroots football development, and pledged Nigeria’s active participation in the program.
The President emphasized Nigeria’s extensive experience in international and continental football, saying the country had won numerous international and continental competitions while maintaining a close, cordial, and mutually beneficial relationship with FIFA.
“Nigeria is one of the few countries in the world to have competed in every FIFA competition, at every level, for men and women. Many of our young boys and girls, men and women, have been given opportunities to pursue rewarding careers in the game as a result of these developments,” he said.
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Sunday Dare, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, had earlier stated that Nigeria, as the world’s leading black nation, was at the heart of everything FIFA was attempting to achieve in its football development plan.
“We are huge football fans who follow the game with zeal,” he said.
During his speech, Infantino reaffirmed FIFA’s commitment to the development of football in Nigeria, promising to strengthen the organization’s partnership with the Nigeria Football Federation.
“Nigeria is a big football-playing country,” he said. Nigeria, as well as Africa as a continent, must lead the global football movement.”
He thanked President Buhari for his support for the game’s development and urged him to assist FIFA in spreading the message of football as a unifying force.
“There are no divisions in a nation or continent when football is played. Football brings people together, and we need big countries like Nigeria to do that,” he said.
