Football governing body Fifa on Friday gave Nigeria until Monday 4pm GMT to reverse its decision to ban the national football team from international matches following its poor showing at the World Cup.
Fifa spokesperson Nicolas Maingot said that a letter had been sent to the Nigerian Football Federation on Friday setting the deadline to reverse the decision withdrawing the Nigerian team from international matches.
“Failure to do so will lead to the suspension of the Nigerian federation,” he said.
Maingot also said that Fifa would send an official to the West African country to seek a solution to the impasse, which followed the decision by Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan to ban the Nigerian national team from international matches following its disappointing first-round exit at the World Cup in South Africa.
Bottom of the group
Traditional African powerhouse Nigeria finished bottom of their group in South Africa with just one point from three matches.
Earlier, Fifa general secretary Jerome Valcke said he would meet the Nigerian executive member representing Nigeria at Fifa to discuss the decision.
“Nigeria went too far and Nigeria will be suspended if they don’t change their position in the next 48 hours,” Valcke told independent Talk Radio 702.
“You can’t allow a government to say all national teams can’t play anymore in any international tournaments.”
He said the decision to suspend Nigeria would be in line with the governing body’s efforts to retain the independence of football from political interference. — AFP