Ex-Soccer Star scores NFF high on players, coaches welfare

Ex-Soccer Star, Austin Popo, has given kudos to the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Gusau, for his proactive approach to issues of development in the round leather game.

He placed emphasis on Mr. Gusau’s focus on players and coaches welfare and development “for less than two years after the inauguration of members of Players Status and Arbitration Committee, (PSAC) after being moribund for 10 years before the election of Ibrahim Gusau as President, the PSAC has recovered more than five hundred million naira (₦500,000,000) for players and coaches within this short period, with further plans to put in place basic national regulations and procedural rules guiding the operations of the PSAC in line with FIFA basic standard regiments for the protection and improvement of players and coaches welfare and development.

Popo stressed that under Gusau financial discipline has improved “national team payments are more regular, staff salaries are paid on the 28th of each month, and hotel arrears are now a thing of the past.”

On coaching, Popo asserted that “coaching development has seen multiple CAF License C, B, and Women’s C courses, with a promise to complete CAF A licensing. Age‑grade teams have consistently qualified, except for the recent U17 zonal qualifiers. Referee indemnity is now guaranteed.”

Placing his searchlight on the performance of national football teams under Gusau’s leadership of the NFF, Popo submitted “the Super Eagles earned a silver medal at AFCON; the Super Falcons won their tenth AFCON title and the Beach Soccer national team was revived. Over forty talented boys in the U13 and U15 categories are being groomed under the FIFA Development Scheme.”

According to the ex-Soccer Star, “growth is gradual, but the foundations laid indicate a promising trajectory for Nigerian football.

On league football, Popo is of the opinion that Gusau performed extremely well by “constituting league boards, appointing competent seasoned football administrators as chairpersons: who have moved our leagues to the next level even though we are not there yet, but we have moved forward from where it used to be.”