The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) has announced a total boycott of all activities linked to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), including the Federation’s upcoming Annual General Assembly (AGA) scheduled to hold in Ibadan, Oyo State.

Naija News reports that the directive was issued on Wednesday following what SWAN described as the NFF’s “deliberate and persistent exclusion” of the association from its Congress — the federation’s highest decision-making body.

In a statement jointly signed by SWAN President, Isaiah Benjamin, and Secretary-General, Ambassador Ikenna Okonkwo, the association condemned the exclusion, describing it as “unacceptable, retrogressive, and an affront to the role of the sporting media in national football development.”

The statement read partly:

“The media is a critical tripod in the growth of sports globally. SWAN, as the professional body coordinating sports journalism in Nigeria, has consistently engaged with the NFF on the need to restore our rightful place in its Congress. Yet, while the Federation claims to be expanding its Congress, it continues to sideline us, a move that is both short-sighted and detrimental to Nigerian football.”

SWAN further accused the NFF leadership of fostering division in football administration, stressing that Nigeria’s poor results on the global stage were the outcome of deep-rooted maladministration.

The association, therefore, directed its members nationwide to cease coverage and promotion of all NFF-related activities with immediate effect.

It also announced the creation of a task force to enforce compliance and vowed to begin a thorough investigation into alleged maladministration within the NFF.

The statement added:

“Simultaneously, the Association will begin a thorough investigation and public exposure of the maladministration and backward practices now synonymous with the Federation’s operations, practices that have contributed to Nigeria’s repeated World Cup qualification failures.

The exclusion of SWAN from the NFF Congress is no longer acceptable and will not be tolerated. We stand resolute in defending the integrity and rightful role of the sporting media in the Nigerian football ecosystem.”