NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIAN FOOTBALLERS (NANF)

As the foremost professional footballers association in Africa established in 1991, our vision is not only to protect and improve the condition and statues of Nigerian footballers, but to set the pace for development and improvement of the working condition of Africa players through the platform of a regional professional footballers association.(FAFP)- the machinery for advancing this goal has already been initiated by our association (NANF). Since our inception there have been some major achievement, especially in the areas of players welfare and education. Unlike the players association in the develop continent like Europe, the greatest challenges facing African football professional bodies is the hijacking of association football by government. Our association has instituted more than three court cases against their control and destruction of the game through a decree as the legal instrument running football in Nigeria against the principles of association football and against FIFA statutes. And FIFA seems helpless in bringing the situation to order in Nigeria and other African countries. For any meaningful developmnment to take place, this fundamental error in terms of the proper status of the football association in our country must be corrected. This is a very crucial fight, which our union is fighting and will keep on fighting until the right changes are made.

SERVICES RENDERED TO MEMMBERS.

1) EDUCATION,- education is the most important tool to Nigeria and the rest of African Players need.

Education for freedom. All the other services put in place to uplift the statues and advance the terms and condition of our members can only produce the desire result if the foundations of our members are properly laid. Unlike Europe, our football system is not designs to in cooperate the education of our players simultaneously with the development of the football skill. Our union as already put in place a program" THE SCHOOL TO FOOTBALL PITCH" in conjunction with the ministry of education to give every future professional players the opportunity for education while learning their football skills.

2) INFORMATION- as part of the strategy to educate our members, our union produces a mouthy magazine, distributed to all categories of players from the grassroots to the professional level of the game.

Secondly, we have also gone into books publications titled "THE FOOTBALLERS COMPANION" which contains materials on the course content that will be taught in the " SCHOOL TO FOOTBALL PITCH PROGRAM" in all levels of schooling system in Africa.

3) COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES- our union has already concluded plans for the operation of their mass transit scheme. Apart from its commercial focus, it is also aim to assist clubs and members at a very reduced rate. The union has equally concluded plans to establish (NANF MANAGEMENT LTD) to address a number of key commercial challenges confronting Nigerian football and footballers.

FOOTBALLERS DISPUTE PREVENTION AND SETTLEMENT-

Amidst the confrontational and hostile attitude of football authorities, our union has assisted majority of our members with dispute with their clubs and the FA. We have equally played a major role in the burial of Players who died in Penury and abandoned and further fight for their compensation. One of such unique cases hanging in the court of FIFA is one late JOHN IKOROMA who died in U.A.E some few years back.

PLAYERS MANAGEMENT- our union considers this next to education as the most crucial and fundamental service rendered to our members. Because of the player's ignorance on the contract term and transfer rules, most players has been subject to humiliating treatment that has terminated their career abruptly. Because of this, our players management Unit is set up to ensure that all players are properly educated and counsell on the intellectual demand of professional football as it relate to contract sighing and transfers.

YOUTH DEVELOPMENT- apart from the "SCHOOL TO FOOTBALL

PITCH PROGRAM," which target young footballers within the school environment, the union is also involved in the discovery and development of football talent from the street. Most of the kids discovered from the street with the potential of becoming future great players, are giving scholarship to be included in the

"SCHOOL TO FOOTBALL PITCH PROGRAM". This program is carried out under the platform of our union grassroots football project. Successful players from the scheme are sent to the junior national team and clubs.

ORGANISATIONAL SRUCTURE- our organizational structure reflects the zonal political structure of the country with our headquarter in Lagos. The Zonal representatives co-ordinates the activities of the various clubs in the states that makes up the zones.

We have an executive president who oversees the operation of the organization and heads the management committee. Next to him is the secretary general who does the normal job of secretary general and plays the role of the deputy to the executive president. Delegates from the clubs in the two division of the professional league and the zonal representative plus members of the executive board, make up the general council.

LOOKING AHEAD

OUr plans for the next five years are To ensure that a proper law that is in tune with the principles of association football and in consonance with FIFA statutes replaces the present decree 101 used in running football in Nigeria. In other to create the enabling environment for private sector to participate in our league and football generally as a means of improving the financial status of our members.

1) To promote and advance the status and aspirations of African footballers through the establishment of the association of African football professionals.

2) To ensure that Nigerian professional footballers are provided with a playing career path that will maximize their ability to achieve their playing and income earning potential.

3) Having recognized the various difficulties faced by our players in balancing their sporting careers with their personal family, responsibilities. Our union has proposed various scheme welfare that will take care of their financial needs at retirement.

4) Our idea of the school to a football pitch program is to prepare players for retirement from their playing career on the basis of a sound educational footing. It is therefore our hope that in the next five years, Nigerian players will be well equipped to maximize the influence of the union in decision making process of the game.

5) We planned to initiate programs and activities that will bring the plight of the Nigerian players and the rest of our colleagues in other African countries closer to the attention of FIFA'S through FIFPRO 6)

Our overall goal in the next few years is directed towards building the NANF and makes maximum contribution towards building the game. Because it is impossible to protect and improve the welfare of our members in isolation of the overall development of the game.

The above is the summary of our vision, our objectives and our plans for the future.