On 14 September 2025, the General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, sent a memo to the General Congress of the Fédération—a body comprising all 37 State FAs, the Leagues, Coaches, and Referees.

The memo outlined the agenda for the 2025 Annual General Assembly (AGA), scheduled to be held in Ibadan, Oyo State, from 25–27 September 2025. It also enclosed three key documents:
    1.    The NFF Statutes
    2.    The NFF Electoral Code
    3.    The Standing Orders of the Congress of the NFF

Sanusi further disclosed that FIFA will be sending a delegation to Nigeria on Thursday, 25 September, for meetings with the NFF Executive Committee and Congress to review the documents and propose amendments. Any agreed changes would later be adopted at an Extraordinary General Assembly.

Once the memo became public, the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) responded with immediate outrage, citing exclusion from what it termed the “most important” meeting in recent NFF history.

In a strongly-worded letter co-signed by its President and Secretary General, SWAN declared a nationwide boycott of all NFF activities, including the Ibadan AGA. It accused the NFF of:
    •    Deliberate exclusion of SWAN from the Congress
    •    Taking a retrogressive step in Nigerian football
    •    Ignoring the critical role of the sporting media
    •    Mismanaging football affairs despite ample financial support

The association lamented that its repeated efforts to cooperate with the current NFF leadership were ignored, accusing the federation of employing divisive and destructive tactics.

SWAN further directed its members nationwide to refrain from covering or publicizing any NFF activity. A task force was to be set up to enforce the directive and launch an investigation into the NFF’s governance practices—linking those to Nigeria’s failure to qualify for back-to-back World Cups.

The NFF, sensing the weight of SWAN’s actions, moved quickly to clarify its earlier statement.

The Federation insisted that:
    •    No amendment to the Statutes was planned for the AGA itself.
    •    The 26 September meeting with FIFA and CAF was a workshop—a preliminary consultation.
    •    The aim was to develop improved governance structures, not to sideline stakeholders.
    •    Any actual amendment would come only after a consensus is reached, followed by a dedicated Extraordinary General Assembly.

The NFF emphasized the desire to create robust and inclusive statutes that reflect global best practices, improve representation, and stabilize Nigerian football.

Realizing the clarification, SWAN lifted its boycott, noting that it remains committed to the integrity of football through responsible media advocacy. The association emphasized its openness to dialogue—when sincerity and transparency are evident.

Box 18, a football governance think tank, analyzed Article 30 of the 2010 NFF Statutes, which governs how statutes can be amended. The Article states that:
    •    Amendments must be proposed in writing by a Member or the Executive Committee.
    •    Any Member’s proposal must be supported in writing by at least five other Members.

This raised the question:
Is SWAN officially recognized as a “Member” of the NFF Congress to propose or influence statute amendments?

Interestingly, the 2006 NFA Statutes listed SWAN under Article 10(m) as a member—described as a “subordinate” to the NFA. This classification now raises concerns among observers:
    •    Would SWAN be comfortable reducing itself to a subordinate role?
    •    Why seek inclusion only in football, and not the 44+ other sports federations?
    •    Can a watchdog become part of the system it is supposed to monitor?

While SWAN’s push for inclusion is grounded in its vital role in football development, the line between advocacy and overreach remains blurred. The incident has reignited debates around:
    •    The independence of the media
    •    The structure and inclusiveness of sports governance in Nigeria
    •    The need for institutional reforms rooted in transparency and accountability

For now, the crisis seems to have de-escalated—but the underlying issues remain unresolved. The 2025 NFF General Assembly in Ibadan may yet be remembered not for what was changed—but for the tensions it revealed.