Winning the W'Cup in 2022, creating a data bank for youth football development will be our biggest achievements .......Seyi Akinwunmi

Winning the World Cup in 2022 and creating a data bank for youth football development will be our biggest achievements in 4years- Seyi Akinwunmi By Adewale Ajayi... NSM ADMIN NFF Vice president Seyi Akinwunmi is still relishing his landslide victory at the 2018 NFF elective Congress decided Thursday in Katsina state. The Lagos state FA chairman polled 42 votes, to defeat Ondo state FA chairman, Otunba Dele Ajayi, to make a triumphant return as vice president under the much maligned Amaju Pinnick led NFF executive committee. Answering questions on NSM, a Whatsapp platform that is gradually becoming the mouthpiece of true sports stakeholders in Nigeria, the NFF VP used the opportunity to thank the delegates and Nigerians for giving him and members of the Pinnick led executive committee a second chance to right their wrongs and position Nigeria among the elites of Africa and world football. "According to him, the first move this present board will take under a new dispensation, is a total restructuring leading to statutes amendment. This was well spelt out by the president, Amaju Pinnick after his reelection in Katsina, on Thursday. As a lawyer i will be in the forefront of that along with other members of the executive committee. That is our first assignment as a board. I think it will be good for posterity to judge us all if we fail to achieve this and many more at the end of our tenure in 2022 Seyi said" As chairman of a four man committee set up to investigate the circumstances leading to FIFA'S decision to take one point off Nigeria and fine the NFF 6000 Swiss France for fielding an ineligible player against Algeria in a World Cup qualifier, Seyi said the committee has since concluded their assignment and submitted their report to the federation who had since, forwarded same to the honourable sports minister, Solomon Dalung, weeks before the Nigerian delegation departed for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. "My committee did its work thoroughly as instructed, we interviewed many people and studied the needed documents. We then submitted our report to the Federation before the World Cup. The Federation was apparently instructed to send same to the Minister and they did just that. When we returned from the World Cup, you all know what happened? However, i must say that, that event and the subsequent report, is what informed my determination for digitilisation under the new dispensation " Asked if Nigerians can trust the present board to qualify for the all major competitions between now and 2022, Seyi said as a board, they will strive to improve on their performance in the last four years and ensure they qualify and excel in all competitions they participate in. "There is nobody that guarantee anything in football otherwise it would raise eyebrows. The whole essence of football is its unpredictability. However you can trust us to put everything in place for us to not only qualify but win all tournaments. We intend to do even better than the last four years. We now have the experience of preparing for, and participating at the World Cup to help us" The Lagos FA chairman who also doubles as chairman of youth football development committee of the NFF, has invested personal money, energy, time and passion into making this sector very viable especially in the last two years and he seem determined to do even more. "I grew up as a schoolboy footballer myself but also played street football with many less privileged children. When you juxtapose that with my charity work over the past 15years with the education of indigent children you can begin to understand my passion for young talented kids. I am happy that our youth development program has started to work but we must keep pushing. As i type, i have just agreed with the President of the Senegalese FA, Sengho to find a time for our respective U15 teams to play each other. I will keep pushing until the entire U17 team comes from our organised or approved tournaments in the future. I will be fulfilled if we win the World Cup in 2022 with some of the kids who have gone through our youth system. I will be fulfilled if players from other countries are rushing to get work permit to play football in our leagues. I will be fulfilled if our female football finally comes of age" Taking into consideration the many crisis the federation had to face on the road before the conclusion of their first four year tenure, it is pertinent therefore to ask what measures the present board have put in place, to avoid the mistakes of the past knowing that the issues that led to the crisis have not been fully resolved? "The main thing would be the NFF Act. We did our best but it was out of our hands. The funny thing is that ordinarily we should not need this law but for the peculiarities of us Nigerian Football stakeholders who apparently need the specific law in place before we follow the rules which we signed on to. I think if we achieved this and amend our statutes in line with the outcome of our views merged with that of our football stakeholders. The Amaju Pinnick led board will never be forgotten" On the relationship between the Amaju Pinnick led NFF executive committee and the media especially in the appointment of media officers for the various National teams, Barrister Akinwunmi said the relationship is still very cordial but he will rather profer a different suggestion to the idea of media officers in our National teams. "The relationship between the NFF and the Media in youth football development ought to be a symbiotic one. In my opinion and i seriously hold this personal view that, attaching media personalities to the youth teams creates other problems for example jealousy among colleqgues in the media, over exposure of these young kids etc. There are many more ways that both parties can work together in youth development without anyone holding any specific role in the teams. Afterall how many people can be attached to these teams? It is one of the things an NFF/Media Workshop should convene to discuss soon urgently he concluded"