NFF election: Submission of forms ends Sept. 1

INTERESTED Nigerians who are yet to obtain election forms into the executive committee of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), still have hours left as grace.  
According to the eight-man re-constituted of the NFF electoral committee, the polls will hold on September 4 in Abuja, as agreed at the last controversial general assembly in Abuja on August 26
The electoral committee stated that all qualified and interested candidates have the option of either downloading the requisite application forms from the electoral committee website, www.nffelect2014.com or obtaining the forms at No. 9, Arusha Crescent, Wuse Zone 1, Abuja.
It stated that duly completed forms are to be returned to No. 9, Arusha Crescent, Wuse Zone I, Abuja before 6.30pm on Monday, September 1, 2014.
"All candidates who previously obtained their forms but were unable to submit are eligible to participate in the 2014 NFF executive committee elections on September 4, 2014. Such candidates are advised to submit their forms as advised in paragraphs 3 and 4 above.
"All other candidates who previously had been cleared to participate in the 2014 NFF Executive Committee Elections are eligible to participate in the elections on the basis of their previous clearance, and will not require any further or fresh clearance. It is important, however, that candidates falling in this category communicate their willingness to participate in the elections either by letter to the NFF Electoral Committee at the  addresses listed earlier in this notice or by e-mail to info@nffelect2014.com
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FIFA writes Nigeria over NFF crisis., nullifies Giwa's election

THE World Soccer-governing body, FIFA has said it will not recognise Ambassador Chris Giwa as president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) at a purported general assembly held on Tuesday in Abuja.
FIFA also said other elected members of the NFF executive committee at the August 26 general congress will not be recognised.
Prior to the said polls, the Department of State Services (DSS) had arrested the incumbent President, Alhaji Aminu Maigari alongside NFF Secretary-General, Musa Amadu and board member, Barrister Chris Green for interrogation which lasted 14 hours.
However, Amadu was released to come and supervise the general assembly at Chida Hotel, Abuja where the Sports Minister, Dr Tamuno Danagogo addressed the delegates, leaving the duo at the DSS office until their eventual release after 14 hours according to Green.
The majority of the state FA chairman and secretaries present at the Chida Hotel venue of the general assembly protested against the arrest of the three football chiefs, as they dared the security operatives which ordered them not to embark on a protest.
Some of the delegates later went ahead with the election which was won by Giwa who defeated outgoing vice president of NFF, Chief Mike Umeh in the disputed polls held at Chida Hotel.
But a new twist was added to the crisis on Friday as FIFA wrote to nullify the election which brought in Giwa and other board members into office as the body also directed them to vacate the Glass House by Monday.
Giwa with the newly-elected board members of the crisis-ridden NFF was at the Glass House on Wednesday to assume office.
FIFA also upheld the decision of the 39 out of 44 of the delegates present at an ad hoc general assembly later held the same day at Bentley Hotel, Abuja, that the election should now hold on September 4, 2014.
The letter from FIFA entitled: 'Situation of the Nigeria Football Federation' reads:
Dear General Secretary,

We refer to the enclosed reports we have received from members of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Association of Professional Footballers of Nigeria, as well as to information relayed by the media with regard to the events linked to the general assembly of the NFF on 26 August, 2014.
We understand from the sequence of events that the general assembly duly convened by the NFF Executive Committee could not start as planned because some NFF members, including the president, were being held by security forces for questioning.
We also note that, despite these absences, some members decided to hold an impromptu ‘elective general assembly’ while the delegates were supposed to be deciding on a new roadmap leading to elections for a new NFF Executive Committee.
According to the enclosed reports, 39 out of 44 of the delegates then resolved to hold an ad hoc general assembly during which they decided that elections would be organised for 4 September 2014 and elected new members to the electoral committees.
Finally, we have learnt that the persons who claim to have been elected during the so-called ‘elective general assembly’ have come to the NFF offices claiming to be the legitimate president and members of the NFF. It also appears that the Ministry of Sports has recognised them.
As stated previously, FIFA deems the general assembly to be the highest decision-making body of any football association and that its decisions are consequently binding, provided that these comply with the member association’s own statutes.
According to the facts reported to us, it appears that the vast majority of the NFF members decided to set the elections for 4 September 2014 and we consider this decision to be valid since it was taken by the highest decision-making body (the NFF general assembly) and conforms to what has been previously reported to FIFA.
As a consequence, we will not recognise the outcome of the abovementioned elections and should there still be persons claiming to have been elected and occupying the NFF offices at midnight on Monday 1 September 2014, we will bring the case to the appropriate FIFA body for sanctions, which may include the suspension of the NFF.
We ask you to inform all parties concerned accordingly and we thank you in advance for keeping us informed of any developments in the situation. In particular, we would like you to confirm that the date of 4 September 2014 will be met because the timing seems very short.
Yours sincerely,
FIFA
Jérôme Valcke
Secretary General

Caption: Maigari still recognised by FIFA as NFF President.

NRA compels LMC to suspend Week 26 games

The League Management Company (LMC) has suspended the Globacom Premier League Week 26 fixtures scheduled for this weekend.
This follows the withdrawal of services by the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA) from all Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) organised matches, as a result of the crisis which has engulfed the Glass House in recent times leading to the arrest of the NFF President, Alhaji Aminu Maigari, the General Secretary, Barrister Musa Ahmadu and Chairman of the Technical Committee, Barrister Chris Green prior to the scheduled August 26 general assembly in Abuja.
A statement from the LMC Chief Operating Officer, Salihu Abubakar said the decision to put the Week 26 games on hold "is in the light of the notice of withdrawal of services by the Nigerian Referees Association which makes it impossible for us to organise games”.
The LMC said clubs in the Globacom Premier League and the sponsorship partners have already been briefed of the development with clubs directed not to proceed to venues of their respective games until further communication.
Abubakar said “we have written to the General Secretary of the NFF on this development and have also informed the clubs and our sponsors”.
He hopes that the matter will be resolved in due course to enhance the completion of the season in time.
“We are already running a tight fixture schedule and are hoping that this crisis is resolved soon so the season can be concluded in time for our clubs to prepare for continental registration and participation,” it added.
The NRA in a notice signed by the Secretary-General, Prince Moroof Oyekunle Oluwa and addressed to the LMC Chairman had stated that: “The Nigeria Referees are hereby withdrawing its services with immediate effect from all matches organised by the NFF which includes the Nigeria Premier League, Nigeria National League, Nigeria NationWide League, Nigeria Women League and the Federation Cup pending when sanity is restored”.
........
Globacom Premier League Week 26 fixtures

Lobi Stars          vs El-Kanemi Warriors
Crown FC         vs Nasarawa United
Sharks               vs Gombe United
Akwa United      vs Enyimba
Heartland           vs Kaduna United
Warri Wolves     vs Sunshine Stars
Bayelsa United   vs Nembe City
Enugu Rangers    vs Dolphins
FC Taraba        vs Kano Pillars
Abia Warriors    vs Giwa FC
..............
Globacom Premier League Week 25 table


                                                         P    W      D     L    GF    GA  GD    PTS            
1.Kano Pillars                                  25     12     7     6     38     28   10    43    
2.Nasarawa United                          25     12     5     8     27     19    08   41    
3.Enyimba                                       25     11     7     7     29     17   12    40    
4.Dolphins FC                                 25     10     9     6     26     17   09    39    
5.Abia Warriors                               25     11     4     10     35   28   07    37    
6.Sunshine Stars                              25     9     10     6     33     29    04    37    
7.Warri Wolves FC                         25     11     4     10     25     26  -1    37    
8.Lobi Stars FC                              25     12     1     12     27     30  -3    37    
9.Akwa United FC                         25     10     6     9       20     21  -1    36    
10.El-Kanemi Warriors                   25     10     5     10     28     22  06    35 
11.Sharks FC                                 25     9       8     8     25     22    03    35    
12.Giwa FC                                   24     10     5     9     22     21    01    35    
13.Heartland FC                             25     8     10     7     23     20    03    34    
14.Gombe United                            25     9     5     11     29     27    02    32    
15.Taraba FC                                 25     10     2     13     17     27 -10    32    
16.Rangers                                     25     9     4     12     32     31     01    31    
17.Bayelsa United                           25     9     3     13     29     37   -8     30    
18.Kaduna United                           25     9     3     13     21     31  -10    30    
19.Crown FC                                 25     8     3     14     18     30  -12    27    
20.Nembe City                               24     5     9     10     13     34   -21    24
.................

Club owners alert clubs on league's indefinite suspension

The leadership of the club owners Association, the umbrella body of the 20 premier league clubs in Nigeria have urged all the clubs not to honour any league fixtures pending the resolution of the crisis which has engulfed Nigerian football in recent times.
This is coming on the heels of the withdrawal of referees by the Nigeria Football Referees Association (NRA) from officiating in any organised Nigeria Football Federation-organised game until further notice.
A statement issued by the Club Owners and signed by the Acting Chairman Barrister Isaac Danladi and the Acting Secretary Alloy Chukwuemeka, urged the clubs to understand the present situation and avoid the inconveniences of embarking on league assignments.
According to the statement: "We wish to notify all clubs that we are in receipt of a correspondence from the League Management Company (LMC), informing us of the withdrawal of referees by the NRA.
"Consequently, we wish to notify you of the development and the need to understand and comply
pending when the issues are sorted out and resolved".
Meanwhile the club owners have called on the relevant key stakeholders in Nigerian football as well as the different factions of the NFF to come together and advance the course of our football by working in line with Football statutes and laws as sanctioned by FIFA.
The association cautioned on the dire consequence of the ongoing crisis on the nation's football and called on all to embrace peace and round table discussion to move the game forward.
........................

NNL Week 25 tables and Week 26 fixtures

NNL Week 25 tables

Group A

                                                     P    W    D    L    F    A    GD    PTS
1 Wikki Tourists                           25    14    2    9    33    21    12    44
2 Kwara United                          25    13    4    8    41    19    22    43
3 Mighty Jets                               25    13    2    10    29    20    9    41
4 Kogi United                            25    13    1    11    39    26    13    40
5 Plateau United                         25    12    4    9    28    21    7      40
6 Ranchers Bees                         25    13    1    11    30    30    0    40
7 Niger Tornadoes                    25    12    2    11    23    17    6     38
8 Sokoto United                     25    12    2    11    19    23    -4     38
9 Spotlight FC                        25    11    3    11    27    29    -2      36
10 Supreme Court                 25    11    2    12    23    24    -1      35
11 DSS FC Kaduna            25    11    2    12    19    33    -14    35
12 Adamawa United            25    10    4    11    27    31    -4     34
13 Jigawa Stars                    25    10    3    12    21    26    -5     33
14 FRSC                             25    7    9    9    21    22       -1     30
15 Teap FC Abuja              25    8    4    13    16    30    -14     28
16 Nigeria Prisons                25    4    7    14    22    46    -24    19


Group B


1.Shooting Stars                25      12      5        8       34       21     +19     41
2 Gabros FC                    25      12      2        10      27       20     +07     41
3 MFM FC                      25      10      9        6       36       27     + 09    39
4 Akwa Starlets                25      11      5        9       20       22     -02     38
5.Bendel Insurance           25      11      4        10      26       25     +01     37
6 ABS FC                       25      11      4        10      24       25     -01     37
7 FirstBank                     25      11      3        11      29       26     +03     36
8 Abia Comets               25      10      6        9       29       30     -01     36
9 Ekiti Utd                      25      11      2        12      23       24     -01     35
10 Gateway Utd             25      10      4        11      29       31     -02     34
11 UNICEM Rovers       25      9       6        10      18       23     -05     33
12 Go-Round                  25      10      2        13      25       25      00     32
13 Prime FC                   25      9       5        11      19       22     -03     32
14 Remo Stars                 25      9       5        11      25       27     -03     32
15 COD Utd                    25      9       4        12      21       31     -10     31
16 Stationery Stores          25      8       6        11      25       31     -06     30
.......
NNL Week 26 fixtures, August 30, 31
Division A

Nigeria Prisons           vs Supreme Court
Spotlight                     vs TEAP
FRSC                        vs Mighty Jets
Niger Tornadoes       vs Kogi Utd
Jigawa Stars             vs DSS, Kaduna
Wikki Tourists          vs Sokoto Utd
Adamawa Utd          vs Kwara Utd 
Plateau Utd            vs Ranchers Bees

Division B
Shooting Stars         vs MFM
COD United           vs FirstBank
Stationery Stores    vs Remo stars
Abia Comets          vs Gabros
Prime                     vs ABS
Bendel Insurance   vs Akwa Starlets
Go-Round            vs UNICEM Rovers
Gateway Utd       vs Ekiti Utd
....

Globacom Premier League and NNL Week 25 results

Nigeria Premier League

Kano Pillars         1 Abia Warriors      0
Gombe Utd          2 Crown                0
Dolphins               0 Sharks                0
Sunshine Stars      2 Rangers              1
Enyimba               3 FC Taraba         0
El-Kanemi           2 Bayelsa Utd        0
Giwa                   2 Warri Wolves      0
Nembe City         0 Akwa Utd          0
Nasarawa Utd    1 Heartland            0
Kaduna Utd        1 Lobi Stars          0

Nigeria National League, Week 25

Division A
Mighty Jets         3 Nigeria Prisons   0
Kogi Utd            2 Jigawa Stars       1
Sokoto Utd        1 Niger Tornadoes 0
Kwara Utd        4 Wikki Tourists     1
Ranchers Bees   3 Adamawa Utd     1
TEAP                1 Plateau Utd         2
Supreme Courts 1 Spotlight             0

Division B
UNICEM Rovers     2 Stationery Stores  0
Akwa Starlets           2 Go-Round            1
Ekiti Utd                   3 Abia Comets        1
MFM, Lagos           2 Gateway Utd         1
FirstBank                1 Shooting Stars        0
ABS                       0 Bendel Insurance    0
Gabros                   1 Prime                     0
Remo Stars            3 COD Lagos           0

Globacom Premier League and NNL Week 25 fixtures

             August 23, 2014

El-Kanemi Warriors           vs Bayelsa Utd
Kano Pillars                        vs Abia Warriors
Gombe Utd                        vs Crown
Dolphins                             vs Sharks
Sunshine Stars                    vs Rangers

           August 24
               
Nasarawa Utd                  vs Heartland
Giwa                                vs Warri Wolves
Enyimba                          vs FC Taraba
Nembe City                    vs Akwa United
Kaduna Utd                    vs Lobi Stars

NNLWeek 25 fixtures

GROUP A

Mighty Jets            vs Nigeria Prisons
DSS Kaduna         vs FRSC
Kogi United           vs Jigawa Stars
Sokoto                  vs Niger Tornadoes
Kwara Utd            vs Wikki Tourists
Ranchers Bees       vs Adamawa Utd
TEAP                    vs Plateau Utd
Supreme Court       vs Spotlight

GROUP B

MFM, Lagos           vs Gateway Utd
Firstbank                 vs Shooting Stars
Remo Stars             vs COD, Lagos
UNICEM Rovers   vs Stationery Stores
AKWA Starlets      vs Go-Round
ABS                      vs Bendel Insurance
Gabros Int'l            vs Prime
Ekiti Utd                vs Abia Comets

NNL Week 24 tables

Group A, Week 24


                                            P    W    D    L    F    A    GD    Pts
1.Wikki Tourists                  24    14    2    8    32    17    15    44
2.Kwara United                  24    12    4    8    37    18    19    40
3.Niger Tornadoes              24    12    2    10    23    16    7    38
4.Mighty Jets                      24    12    2    10    26    20    6    38
5.Kogi United                     24    12    1    11    37    25    12   37
6.Ranchers Bees                 24    12    1    11    27    30    -3    37
7.Spotlight FC                   24    11    3    10    27    28    -1    36
8.Sokoto United                 24    11    2    11    18    23    -5    35
9.Plateau United                23    10    4    9    25    20       05    34
10.Adamawa United          24    10    4    10    27    28    -1    34
11.Jigawa Stars                  23    10    3    10    20    23    -3    33
12.Supreme Court FC       24    10    2    12    22    24    -2    32
13.DSS FC Kaduna          24    10    2    12    18    33    -15   32
14.FRSC                          24    7    9    8    21    21  0     00    30
15.Teap FC Abuja            24    8    4    12    15    28    -13     28
16.Nigeria Prisons FC       24    4    7    13    22    43    -21     19

Group B
                                      P         GD          PTS
1. Shooting Stars            24      +13          41

2. Gabros Int'l                24       +05         38
3. MFM, Lagos             24-     +08          36
4. Bendel Insurance       24       +04          36
5. ABS Ilorin                 24        -01          36
6. Akwa Starlets           24        -02           35
7. First Bank                 24        +02         34
8. Gateway Utd            24         -02         34
9. Abia Comets            24         -01         33
10. Go-Round            24          +02         32
11. Prime                     24         -02          32
12. Ekiti United            24        -03           32
13. COD United          24        -06           31
14. Stationery Stores   24         -04           30
15. Remo Stars           23         05             29
16. UNICEM  Rovers 23        -08            27

....................................
Outstanding matches: Plateau Utd vs Jigawa Stars and UNICEM Rovers vs Remo Stars.