The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has refuted claims circulating on social media suggesting it misappropriated funds received from FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Soccernet.ng reports.
This has arisen following the poor performance of Nigerian football on the continent and on the global stage.
Bar the Super Falcons, who won the WAFCON in July, the Nigerian male and female youth teams have struggled. Even the Super Eagles needed a last game to redeem their chances of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup.
FIFA, CAF, and the Federal Government of Nigeria have pumped money into Nigerian Football over the past decade for the development of facilities and recruitment of talent, but the effects of these actions have largely gone under the radar.
NFF has finished us!!! What is this wickedness and greed???
PLEASE SAVE NIGERIAN FOOTBALL !!!
@thenffofficial pic.twitter.com/Axd0GH9A6l— The Big Bird⚽️ (@c_mobike) October 23, 2025
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There are still no world-class training facilities; the Super Falcons had to wait until the knockout stages of the WAFCON tournament for their training kit to arrive.
The team’s former coach, Randy Waldrum, complained about the delay in payment of salaries for the coaches and the poor structure for tournament preparation by the NFF.
Still, the governing body of Nigerian football maintains that the money they’ve gotten over the years has been put into the proper development of the sport in the country.
In an official statement by the NFF, they clarified that the funds received from the two bodies [FIFA and CAF] are tied to specific development projects and are subject to regular auditing and financial oversight.
“The Nigeria Football Federation finds it expedient to reiterate that the monies it receives from the world football-governing body, FIFA and the continental governing body, CAF, like other Federations, are usually tied to specific purposes and not gifts to the Federations,” the NFF wrote.
“The NFF said on Friday that this fresh clarification has become necessary in view of misinformation by some fellows on social media that the Federation ‘collects’ millions of dollars from FIFA on an annual basis, as if such monies were gifts to the Federation.
“The country’s football-governing body explained that every money received from FIFA or CAF is tied to a specific purpose, and both FIFA and CAF send their auditors to audit the accounts in which the money is received at the end of every year.
“The NFF also explained that monies meant for development purposes are usually tied to specific projects and programmes, while the FIFA Forward monies are also properly specified and under strict adherence to financial regulations, compliance, monitoring and auditing at every stage of the project or program.
“FIFA Forward projects, such as the ongoing NFF/FIFA Players’ Hostel and new training pitches inside the MKO Abiola National Stadium, are subjected to strict controls, monitored and verified at every stage of the work.
“Every stage is verified, assessed and sanctioned before further monies are released to the FIFA-approved consultants, to whom the monies are paid directly.
“The Federation called out the mischief of the individual reeling out fictitious figures on social media, saying he would find no reason to seek clout if he had an idea of how much it costs to organise a single match of any of the National Teams.
“The NFF is a disciplined organisation that operates prudent and strict financial protocols that are within global financial best practices.
“The body has regularly presented its audited account, prepared by our auditors, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (known for its global credibility and integrity), on the floor of the Congress at every Annual General Assembly,” the statement read.
Nigeria’s football is declining under the NFF
Captain of the Nigerian female football team, Rasheedat Ajibade, urged the football federation to invest in Women’s sports after the Super Falcon achieved Mission X back in July.
The PSG midfielder also mentioned she, alongside her teammates, haven’t received the $100,000 prize promise made by the Nigerian president.
While the NFF have jumped in defense of themselves, it is evident to all that the quality of the football in Nigeria is declining on all fronts, and there are no visible remedies to redeem the sport every child on the street loves.
The Flying Eagles were knocked out of the FIFA U-20 World Cup at Group stage level, while the Golden Eaglets didn’t even qualify.
The Super Eagles, on the other hand, were without a win until Eric Chelle came along to change things, and even at that, it was a little too late.
Fingers can be pointed at the players for their performances on the pitch, and rightly so, but a lot of the problems in Nigerian football today have emerged from administrative errors.