You are here: HomeNews2022 10 01Article 591680

Sports News of Saturday, 1 October 2022

Source: www.mynigeria.com

3 trophies in 8 years: Amaju Pinnick’s scorecard as NFF president

Amaju Pinnick would go down in history as one most decorated, ambitious, and controversial figures Nigerian football has ever seen.

After eight solid years at the helm of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), the tenure of the 51-year-old finally expired this month.

True to his words, Pinnick decided not to contest for a third term in office as President of the NFF even though he was eligible.

In this piece, we take a quick glance at Amaju Pinnick's eight-year reign as president of Nigeria's football mother body.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Under his auspices, Nigeria won the U-17 World Cup for the fifth time in 2015 after the Golden Eaglets beat their African counterparts Mali 2-0 in Vina Del Mar, Chile.

Nigeria became only the second country to defend the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

The Super Falcons won back-to-back Women’s Nations Cup in 2016 and 2018 under Pinnick's watch.

Also, Nigeria won bronze at the 2016 Olympic Games after Nigeria beat Honduras 2-0 courtesy of Sadiq Umar's brace.

The Super Eagles also placed third at the 2019 AFCON in Egypt after beating Tunisia by Odion Ighalo's lone goal in the third-place playoffs.

Having looked at some of Pinnick's achievements in the past eight years, now let's zero in on some of the pitfalls of his administration.

FAILURES

Under his leadership, Nigeria failed to qualify for back-to-back African Cups of Nations in 2015 and 2017 at Equitorial Guinea and Gabon respectively.

After winning their 3rd Nations Cup in 2013, the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the next two editions under Pinnick.

Many believe that the senior men's national team did not fare any better under Pinnick. Earlier this year, the Super Eagles crashed out of the AFCON at the round of 16.

Again, Nigeria failed to book a ticket to the World Cup after they failed to beat rivals Ghana in the playoffs.

Also, the Super Falcons produced their worst performance at the 2022 Women's Cup of Nations in Morrocco.

The nine-time champions were knocked out by the host team in the semis via the shootouts.

In addition, many have criticised Pinnick for leaving the local leagues, especially the NPFL to rot as Nigerian clubs are no longer competitive on the African stage.

As a result, Nigeria have failed to qualify for the back-to-back CHAN tournament with the recent being the ouster against Ghana.

Pinnick became the first NFF president to see two terms in office, from 2014 to 2022.

The NFF General Assembly and Elective Congress is underway in the ancient City of Benin, Edo State with new leadership expected to be announced soon.

WDN