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Ifeanyi Udeze has rubbished his former Super Eagles teammate Obafemi Martins’ choice of Seyi Tinubu as Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president.
Seyi Tinubu, 40, is the son of Nigeria president Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Speaking as a guest on his former Super Eagles teammate John Obi Mikel’s ObiOne Podcast, Martins explained that the administration of the sport needs a capable young person who understands the football system and the desires of Nigerians.
“We just need someone that can help. A young person that understands the game, and the system that can help us,” Martins said.
“I think Seyi Tinubu can do that too. He’s young and understands what Nigerian people want. He can change that if he wants to.”
Reacting to Martins’ choice, Udeze said he cannot understand the choice of Seyi.
“For me it’s a bad idea,” Udeze said on BRILA FM on Tuesday. “I don’t know what made Martins make such statement maybe because he’s a friend to Seyi Tinubu but like I said I don’t buy the idea.”
“If Martins claim we need young people to come and run our football there’re other young people. I was thinking he will mention a young person like Seyi Olofinjana. I was surprised with his choice so for me Obafemi Martins is on his own.”
Martins choice of Seyi came amid a leadership crisis in Nigerian football, which led to the resignation of Ibrahim Musa Gusau resigned along with the general secretary and other executive committee members.
The resignations comes following the disappointing outings by the country’s national teams in qualifiers and at major international tournaments.
President Tinubu directed a comprehensive overhaul of Nigerian football administration, elections were suspended, and interim arrangements (including an acting general secretary) were put in place.
By James Agberebi
2 Comments
Thank you my brother man wey sabi…
He will definitely recommend seyi tinubu because seyi tinubu is the biggest spender. and baller in his club in Lagos island….
Just like the way he was praising osimhen’s attitude that everybody is condemning because osimhen is always in his club partying….
The main contributions Seyi Tinubu can give is his access to the ears of the President, and his marketing and advertising experience. This access should not be underestimated, it means he can cut obstructionist bureaucratic elements at state and federal level that other people would not have the political weight or influence to impact.
Nor should his marketing experience be downplayed, he is one of the most successful marketing and branding entrepreneurs in Nigeria. He brought digital advertising to Nigeria showing his innovative instincts. Meanwhile, Nigerian football still uses pitch-side static advertising boards. He is also a trained lawyer with an LLB and LLM.
No single individual can fix Nigerian football. True modernization requires a specialized task force that bridges the gaps between sports finance, commercial marketing, and deep institutional knowledge of both local and international sports ecosystems. Only such a team-based combined specialized expertise can drive systemic change.
So, I’m not saying he should be NFF President, but if he is interested in football, his influence as a board, taskforce or committee member can be crucial in ensuring change is not ignored or sabotaged by salaried bureaucrats.
It is time to stop packing the NFF with people who only understand what happens on the pitch. No single saviour can fix Nigerian football. We need a multidisciplinary coalition or task force. Football is a massive global enterprise that requires specialist skills – ranging from sports science and advanced data analytics to international branding, advertising, and high-level corporate finance.