- A report circulating on Nigerian social media wrongly claimed the Nigerian Football Federation had called on FIFA President Gianni Infantino to step down
- The claim appears to stem from a USA Today report about Norwegian Football Federation President Lise Klaveness, who made the call after the FIFA Forward Enterprise controversy
- The NFF published an official statement on X to address the widespread misinformation directly, urging Nigerians to disregard it
The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has moved to set the record straight after reports, particularly on Nigerian social media, falsely attributed to it a call for FIFA President Gianni Infantino to resign.
In a statement posted on its official X account, the NFF said it had never made any such demand and described the reports as an outright falsehood.
Source: Getty Images
“Contrary to reports, especially on social media, @thenff has never asked and is not asking for @FIFAcom President, Mr. Gianni Infantino to step down as FIFA PRESIDENT. This is outright falsehood. Kindly disregard,” the statement read.
Where the confusion originated
The misinformation appears to have emerged from a misreading of a USA Today report in which Lise Klaveness, President of the Norwegian Football Federation, called on Infantino to vacate his position.
That call came amid growing backlash over Infantino’s proposed FIFA Forward Enterprise, a scheme that drew sharp criticism from several football federations around the world.
UEFA has also been at the forefront of pressure on Infantino, with the European football body raising concerns over his reported attempt to sell stakes in the World Cup.
However, somewhere in the reporting chain, the Norwegian federation’s position was incorrectly presented in the Nigerian media as a statement from the NFF.
Infantino is navigating a turbulent period in his tenure as FIFA president. The FIFA Forward Enterprise proposal attracted widespread condemnation, and criticism from influential confederations like UEFA has kept the pressure on him firmly in the public eye.
Several national football bodies across Europe have added their voices to calls for accountability, though the NFF is not among them.
The federation’s swift rebuttal signals its intent to distance itself entirely from the controversy and clarify its standing on the matter for Nigerian football fans and stakeholders.
CAF backs Infantino’s presidency
Legit.ng previously reported that CAF backed Gianni Infantino to continue as FIFA President despite the FIFA Forward Enterprise controversy.
The African football governing body announced that its 54 member associations had unanimously agreed for the Swiss to continue.
Source: Legit.ng