Acting General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme, has identified integrity, transparency and accountability as essential to restoring public confidence in the federation and attracting corporate sponsorship to Nigerian football.
Ikpeme acknowledged that negative perceptions of the NFF have damaged its reputation among potential investors, stressing that meaningful reforms are necessary to convince businesses to support the federation.
“The negative perception about the Nigeria Football Federation is a statement of fact, and that has even affected how people see us and how sponsors see us,” Ikpeme said.
He explained that securing sponsorship would remain difficult unless the federation improves its image and demonstrates credibility to prospective partners.
“When we talk about sponsorship, you don’t go to a corporate person to talk about it when he himself does not have a very good picture about the organisation you are coming to talk about,” he stated.
Ikpeme maintained that his priority is to establish a culture of integrity within the federation, acknowledging that leadership must demonstrate the values it expects others to embrace.
“Mine is to bring integrity. I’m not perfect, but that is what will drive me,” he declared.
“Integrity will translate into transparency and accountability.”
The NFF official expressed confidence that restoring trust would encourage corporate organisations to invest in Nigerian football and help the federation become less dependent on government funding.
“We just got to do that, to get people back to believing in the Nigeria Football Federation, and then the corporate world to believe in the Nigeria Football Federation,” he explained.
Ikpeme argued that Nigerian football possesses sufficient commercial potential to finance more of its activities if properly managed.
“Football, if we handle it well, with new perception, we should be able to handle certain of our responsibilities, not necessarily depending on government 100 per cent,” he said.
He pointed to football administrations in other countries that successfully meet significant financial obligations through alternative funding sources.
For Ikpeme, rebuilding the NFF’s credibility is not merely a matter of public relations but a necessary step towards attracting investment and creating a more financially sustainable future for Nigerian football.
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