Super Eagles vs DR Congo: Former NFF chief urges government to stop Nigeria’s appeal

A former General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ahmed Sani Toro, has strongly criticised Nigeria’s protest against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afrik-Foot reports.

Offering his opinion following FIFA’s decision to throw out the NFF’s protest, Toro agrees that Nigeria have no case and should not continue with its appeal.

The dispute began after Nigeria’s Super Eagles lost 4–3 on penalties to DR Congo in the final of the CAF World Cup play-off in Morocco, following a 1–1 draw. After the match, the NFF submitted a petition to FIFA, claiming that some Congolese players were not properly cleared as citizens and that FIFA had been misled during their registration.

However, FIFA later confirmed DR Congo as Africa’s representative for the FIFA intercontinental playoff, effectively dismissing Nigeria’s complaint.

Despite that, the NFF has decided to challenge the decision. But Toro believes that move is pointless and has urged the Federal Government to step in and stop the process.

“The NFF should stop playing on our intelligence,” Toro told BSN Sports.

Toro explained that issues of citizenship are not decided by football bodies like FIFA, but by national governments.

“In this case, it is the government of a country that determines who is a citizen, not FIFA or any other body.”

He also warned that expecting FIFA to reverse its earlier decision is unrealistic.

“It is a waste of time and energy. You cannot expect FIFA to admit it made a mistake in clearing those players in the first place. There is no way Nigeria can get a favourable verdict. From the outset, it has been a lost battle.”

Nigeria: NFF insists on appeal despite FIFA verdict

Despite the strong criticism, the Nigeria Football Federation has made it clear that it will not back down.

The NFF has already started the process of appealing FIFA’s decision, after its original petition was dismissed by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.

The federation had argued that there were irregularities in how some DR Congo players obtained their passports, suggesting that fraudulent processes may have been involved.

Now, even after FIFA rejected those claims, the NFF says it remains determined to fight on.

“We have received the decision of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee on our petition, but we are not satisfied,” said Mohammed Sanusi, the NFF General Secretary.

“I want to assure Nigerians that the NFF has immediately commenced the process of appealing the decision.”

This means the case is not yet over. The final outcome will depend on FIFA’s next ruling, which could still have a major impact on Nigeria’s hopes of progressing.