President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau, has hit back strongly at critics of the Birnin Kebbi Stadium project, saying the construction was fully approved, monitored, and certified satisfactory by FIFA under the FIFA Forward Programme.
The project, which has drawn sharp criticism from several Nigerians — particularly on social media — over claims of poor design and questionable expenditure, has now become a political talking point.
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Some users had compared it unfavourably to Kenya’s ongoing 60,000-capacity stadium being built for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.
But Gusau, defending the federation’s integrity, dismissed the comparisons as “completely unfair and misleading,” stressing that the Birnin Kebbi facility was a development-level project, not a tournament-standard arena.
“FIFA designed and approved this as part of its global development initiative, not as an AFCON stadium,” Gusau clarified. “Their officials inspected and were satisfied with every stage of work done.”
The NFF boss also criticised what he called a “wave of politically motivated commentary” from individuals who “have no technical or administrative understanding of the project.”
“Some people have made it a trend to speak on things they don’t understand just to gain attention,” he said. “We encourage public scrutiny, but such scrutiny must be factual.”
Gusau added that the facility remains a crucial step in promoting football growth in northern Nigeria, especially in less-developed regions that previously lacked standard pitches or training environments.
“This project isn’t about grandeur — it’s about access and opportunity,” he concluded. “FIFA’s involvement was total. Every dollar spent was accounted for.
The NFF has since released documents detailing FIFA’s oversight role in the project, in a move aimed at countering widespread misinformation and restoring public confidence in the federation’s use of global development funds.
