NFF Projects US$12m For World Cup

Eyeing 2014 World Cup glory, the Nigerian Football Federation has projected that the reigning African champions require a budget of N2billion, equivalent to about US$12million, to mount a successful challenge in Brazil, resources which the country’s Senate is set to approve after it heaped praises on the NFF for its excellent administration and success.

In receiving the NFF budget submission and football management report of 2013, Chairman of the Nigerian Senate Committee on Sports and Social Development, Senator Adamu Ibrahim Gumba, extolled NFF’s leadership and managerial virtues.

The NFF received N1.8 billion (about US$10.9million) from the Government last year.

“I must commend the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation. Our National Teams won so many laurels from international championships last year,” Senator Gumba told NFF officials led by General Secretary, Barrister Musa Amadu, as appeared before the committee to review 2013 and bolster its 2014 budget proposal.

Added Gumba: “We won the Africa Cup of Nations, won the FIFA U-17 World Cup and the Super Eagles qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

We also won trophies from international friendly matches against Catalonia and South Africa, and our U-17 and U-20 women teams qualified for the FIFA

U-17 and FIFA U-20 Women World Cup competitions taking place this year. Let us also not forget that our country represented Africa at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil.”

“This Senate Committee is very happy with the performance of the NFF in the year 2013 and we charge them to maintain same tempo, or even do better, in 2014.”

NFF’s Adamu told the Senate Committee that added to the N2billion required for the World Cup finals, the NFF required a further N3.9billion (about23.6million) for other competitions, events, overhead, capital and personnel matters in 2014.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles open their World Cup campaign against Iran in Curitiba on June 16, take on Bosnia-Herzegovina in Cuiaba on 21 June and engage Argentina in Porto Alegre on June 25 – exactly 20 years to the day Nigeria and Argentina first squared up at the biggest stage, in Boston during US1994.

CAF president Issa Hayatou has expressed optimism that Africa’s five representatives at Brazil2014 can go all the way and achieve unprecedented World Cup glory.