Former member of the Technical Committee of the Nigeria Soccer Federation (NFF), Barrister Austel Elumelu, has expressed robust doubts over the credibility and effectiveness of the NFF’s petition in opposition to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for allegedly fielding ineligible gamers throughout the World Cup play-off matches in opposition to Nigeria.
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Talking on the problem, Elumelu questioned the authorized foundation of the petition, stressing that the gamers in query had been already cleared by FIFA earlier than representing the DRC.
“These gamers had been cleared by FIFA to play for DR Congo within the first place. That could be a essential level,” Elumelu mentioned.
He defined that counting on provisions of a rustic’s structure or inside legal guidelines might not carry a lot weight with the world soccer governing physique.
“Citing the structure of a rustic as proof might not imply a lot to FIFA. FIFA operates primarily based by itself statutes and rules,” he added.
Elumelu warned that Nigeria’s case may battle to realize traction internationally, particularly if FIFA had already authorised the eligibility of the gamers earlier than the fixtures.
“As soon as FIFA clears a participant, overturning that call is extraordinarily troublesome until there may be overwhelming new proof,” he famous.
The previous NFF technical committee member additionally criticised the federation’s method, suggesting the petition seems to be a response to failure fairly than a strong authorized problem.
“It appears to be like like Nigeria is clutching at straws as a result of we didn’t qualify, whereas different nations did,” Elumelu said.
He harassed that the main focus needs to be on addressing the structural and technical shortcomings that led to Nigeria’s lack of ability to safe qualification within the first place.
“As a substitute of chasing petitions, the NFF needs to be asking why Nigeria couldn’t qualify on advantage,” he mentioned.
Elumelu added that repeated failures to qualify for main tournaments level to deeper points inside Nigerian soccer.
“This isn’t an remoted incident. There are systemic issues that should be mounted,” he warned.
Whereas acknowledging the frustration felt by Nigerians, Elumelu urged realism and accountability.
“We should be sincere with ourselves. Authorized battles is not going to repair soccer issues,” he concluded.
As FIFA evaluations the petition, Elumelu’s feedback spotlight rising debate over whether or not Nigeria’s focus ought to stay on off-field challenges, or on rebuilding credibility and competitiveness on the pitch.
