The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has announced a fine of N1 million for clubs that fail to honour matches during the national preliminaries of this year’s President Federation Cup.
The directive was disclosed by the NFF’s Director of Competitions, Ruth David, in a statement issued on Monday.
According to the statement, the state preliminary rounds of Nigeria’s oldest football competition will take place between March 22 and April 26.
The state preliminaries will kick off on Sunday, March 22. Any club that fails to show up for a match after completing registration at the state level will face a fine of N500,000.
The NFF also stated that the final matches of the state competitions must be played on either Saturday, April 25 or Sunday, April 26.
Following the conclusion of the state finals, each State Football Association, including the Federal Capital Territory Football Association, is required to submit two representatives for the national stage of the competition on either of the two dates.
The President Federation Cup remains one of the most prestigious domestic tournaments in Nigerian football, bringing together clubs from across the country to compete for national honours.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
