FIFA President Gianni Infantino has expressed readiness to deepen the global football governing body’s support for Nigeria as the country moves towards comprehensive reforms of its football administration and development structures.
Infantino disclosed this after meeting a Nigerian delegation led by National Sports Commission (NSC) Chairman Shehu Dikko at the Home of FIFA in Zürich, where both sides held detailed discussions on the future direction of Nigerian football.
The FIFA president said the meeting focused on institutional, governance and developmental issues, as well as existing areas of collaboration between FIFA and Nigeria.
“I was pleased to sit down with a delegation from Nigeria, led by National Sports Commission (NSC) Chairman Shehu Dikko, at the Home of FIFA in Zürich to hold important discussions and align on our vision for football in the country,” Infantino said.
According to him, the discussions examined ways of establishing stronger structures and creating clearer pathways through which young Nigerian players can develop and access opportunities at the highest levels.
“While stressing the need to create stronger structures and pathways to provide even more opportunities for the youth, we explored areas where FIFA can further support the growth of our beautiful game in this football-passionate country,” he added.
The meeting comes at a critical point for Nigerian football following the resignation of the principal officers of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the ongoing discussions involving the Nigerian government, NFF administration, FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on a comprehensive reform roadmap.
FIFA confirmed on Tuesday that it had accepted the resignations of the principal NFF officers and would continue engagements with the Nigerian government, the NFF administration and CAF towards developing a roadmap for short-, medium- and long-term reforms.
The latest meeting therefore places FIFA’s engagement directly within the broader process of restructuring Nigerian football.
Infantino also linked the discussions to Nigeria’s next generation of players, stressing the importance of creating sustainable structures capable of producing and retaining talent.
His position is consistent with FIFA’s broader development agenda, which places youth development, stronger member associations and improved football administration among its strategic priorities. FIFA says its Talent Development Scheme has been introduced across more than 150 member associations, while its development programmes are designed to create clearer pathways from grassroots football to elite performance.
The FIFA president also used the occasion to wish Nigeria success at the upcoming FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
“I also wished luck to Nigeria for the upcoming FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup,” Infantino said.
He thanked the Nigerian delegation for what he described as its time, ideas and positive intention to work together in taking Nigerian football forward.
The engagement is expected to further strengthen the reform dialogue as Nigeria seeks to address longstanding concerns around governance, administration, football development and the effectiveness of its football structures.