The president of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick has been elected as a member of the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) Council.
Pinnick defeated incumbent and Malawi FA president, Walter Nyamilandu, to emerge as the third Nigerian after Amos Adamu and Oyo Orok Oyo to be elected into the FIFA Council at the 43rd CAF General Assembly in Rabat, Morocco.
The election also means Pinnick became a member of CAF Executives as the fifth CAF Vice President after Austin Senghor (Senegal), Ahmed Yahaya (Mauritania), Souleiman Waberi, and Fouzi Lekjaa (Morocco).
The Heritage Times had earlier reported that South Africa’s Dr. Patrice Motsepe was elected as the 7th CAF president at the 43rd General Assembly in Rabat, Morocco.
Motsepe, who was elected unopposed, becomes the 8th president of CAF since 1957 and will be the first southern African to hold the position.
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development Sunday Dare congratulated Pinnick for his new role and urged the NFF president to use his position to reposition Nigerian and African football.
Dare, in a statement from his media office said: “This is an opportunity to use your new position to make Nigerian, African and World football great again and make it better than you met it. This is the reward of hardwork and unity of purpose. We are better off when we support our collective aspirations for the development of our great country. This is an honour well deserved”.
