Article
World football –ruling body, FIFA,
has named the President of Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Mr. Amaju Melvin
Pinnick, into one of its most important committees – the Organising Committee
for Competitions.
Hitherto, the world body had
different committees for organization of its several competitions, including
the FIFA World Cup, FIFA Confederations Cup, FIFA Women’s World Cup, FIFA U20
World Cup, FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup, FIFA U17 World Cup, FIFA U17 Women’s
World Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. Pinnick was
a member of the Organising Committee for the FIFA U20 World Cup.
However, at its 66th Congress in
Mexico City on 12th – 13th May 2016, and in accordance with the revised FIFA
Statutes that came into force on 27th April 2016, the model of the standing
committees was reviewed, cutting the number from 26 to 9.
The new model has only the
following committees: Governance, Finance, Development, Member Associations,
Referees, Players’ Status, Football Stakeholders, Medical, Organising Committee
for FIFA Competitions.
Pinnick’s letter of appointment,
dated 18th January 2017 and signed by Fatma Samoura, the Secretary General,
read inter alia: “We are very pleased to inform you that you have been
appointed member of the Organising Committee for FIFA Competitions. We wish you
our sincere congratulations on this appointment.
“The FIFA administration is at
your disposal through the following Administration Officer, who will be in
contact with you regarding the upcoming meetings and any further aspects
relating to your office as member of this committee: Colin Smith, Chief Competitions
Officer.
“We wish you great success and
enjoyment in this role at FIFA and look forward to welcoming you soon to
Zurich.”
The Organising Committee for FIFA
Competitions is headed by Aleksander Ceferin, President of the Union of
European Football Associations (UEFA). The tenure of members is for 2017-2021.
In line with the new FIFA reforms,
each proposed member of any of the committees was made to go through a
comprehensive integrity check conducted by several organisations of global
relevance and stature.
Pinnick’s appointment, and in
particular the thorough and painstaking checks that he passed with full marks,
is a big thumbs –up for Nigerian Football, and puts out the light on the
unsavoury innuendoes and deliberate mischief of a few individuals intent on
putting the country’s game under a cloud.
As a member of the CAF Organising
Committee for the Africa Cup of Nations, Pinnick is presently at the 31st
Africa Cup finals ongoing in Gabon, and will be match commissioner for
Saturday’s potentially –explosive West African derby between Mali and Ghana.
The new member of the Organising
Committee for FIFA Competitions, who swivelled through the ranks of football
administration (from board member to second vice chairman, first vice chairman
and chairman of Delta State Football Association, to Executive Chairman of
Delta State Sports Commission before his election as President of Nigeria
Football Federation in September 2014), is also a candidate for election into
the Executive Committee of Confederation of African Football.
The CAF elections will take place
at the 39th Ordinary General Assembly of the organization in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia on 16th March.
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