Governing Bodies
GTI explains the unique investment features of The Nigeria Football Fund
When the pot of gold for Nigeria’s football development, The Nigeria Football Fund (TNFF) was launched on Tuesday 22 March 2022, it also marked the 42nd anniversary of Nigeria’s winning of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in 1980.
According to GTI Asset Management & Trust Limited, where the TNFF is domiciled, the fund the fund comes with a lot of features aimed at turning our football industry from its obscure recreational status to a pure business enterprise.
Many invitees who witnessed the epoch-making event attested to the fact that TNFF is very different from other existing Funds in the market.
As a kicker, an investor in TNFF will notice that the fund has three major unique irresistible and rewarding features different from other funds in the market.
First, most of the existing Funds are either Equity, Money Market, Bonds or Real Estate Funds, but TNFF is a Football Fund which has never existed anywhere in the African continent or in the world.
It is also a unique developmental Fund which is more of a national project that is distinct and novel. The Fund completely uses a blue ocean strategy that differentiates it from others.
Second, TNFF is committed to building a “Football Economy” within the Nigeria sports ecosystem that is aimed at solving a major national challenge.
For purpose of clarity, a Football Economy consists of football and other sporting activities measurable in statistical terms as a significant component of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product. Other sporting activities include Basketball, Boxing, Athletics, Table/Lawn Tennis, Golf, Polo, Cricket, etc.
At present, Football and other sports in Nigeria are faced with challenges like inadequate funding, poor infrastructure, administrative hiccups and poor event management, amongst others.
Thus, the TNFF initiative seeks to provide liquidity support to football or sporting projects targeted at the growth and development of the football economy and its value chain in Africa’s most populous black nation, Nigeria.
As noted earlier, TNFF is a national project that seeks to address the various challenges in the sports ecosystem, build a strong and sustainable football/sports economy by delivering efficiency in the funding management and administration of the beautiful game.
TNFF is also a project that will help transform football from a socio-political tool to a profitable business enterprise and by extension, a national asset that will help in transforming Nigerian Football Clubs into a profitable business enterprise, with the multiplier effects that will drive a cycle of growth across several other sectors. TNFF further supports government’s drive for revenue diversification.
However, the third special feature of TNFF is that it guarantees financial rewards for the passion investors have for football or sports in general. Here, passion for sports/football is rewarded with financial returns, as sporting/football fans become football investors and become financially rewarded for it.
Simply put, investment by corporate bodies or individuals in TNFF is an investment in the development of football in Nigeria and such investment will help in promoting Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in Football.
For example, many corporate bodies incur yearly expenditures on sponsorships, which are usually written off in their statement of profit or loss.
Thus, TNFF provides an opportunity to capitalize such “donations” made to develop football infrastructures, thereby assisting in restructuring the balance sheet through the reclassification of “donations to football” to “investment in football”.
Finally, every investor in TNFF has nothing to fear because the fund has been so uniquely designed for safety in order to provide a win-win situation for the investors, stakeholders and it enhances the growth cum development of the beautiful game in Nigeria.
TNFF is the only magical wand that can lay a rock-solid foundation; propel our football to a desirable height and also lessen the burden of government in funding a professional sport like football.
The time for local and foreign investors to invest in TNFF is now because of the growth potential of the investment. It may be too late to get it at a lower price in the near future for a stitch in time saves nine.
FIFA has started disciplinary proceedings against the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) over Islamophobic and xenophobic chants during a friendly between Spain and Egypt on March 31, the global soccer body said on Tuesday.
At the RCDE Stadium near Barcelona, the home ground of LaLiga club Espanyol, Spanish supporters chanted “who doesn’t jump is a Muslim” during the World Cup warm-up match, which ended in a goalless draw.
“FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings today against the Spanish FA for the incidents in the friendly against Egypt,” FIFA said in a statement.
Spanish police launched an investigation into the chants last week.
Spain winger Lamine Yamal condemned the chants as disrespectful and intolerable in an Instagram post.
The Egyptian Football Association also condemned the chants as an entirely unacceptable “repugnant act of racism,” and added that the acts of a small group of spectators would not affect the close relations between the Spanish and Egyptian federations.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
The newly appointed Acting General Secretary of the Confederation of African Football, Samson Adamu, has declared his ambition to leave a lasting legacy as he assumes one of the most influential administrative roles in African football.
Adamu was named to the position on Sunday, March 29, 2026, during a CAF Executive Committee meeting held at the Giza Palace Hotel in Cairo. His appointment, proposed by CAF President Patrice Motsepe, received unanimous ratification from the committee.
Speaking shortly after his elevation, Adamu expressed both gratitude and determination. “I am elated by this appointment. I am determined to serve African football with humility, integrity, and professionalism,” he said.
His emergence is historic, as he becomes the first Nigerian—and indeed the first West African—to occupy the position in the 69-year history of CAF, a development widely seen as a significant milestone for the region’s growing influence within continental football governance.
Adamu’s journey to the summit of African football administration reflects a career shaped by innovation, passion, and administrative excellence. Fifteen years ago, he initiated the globally acclaimed COPA Lagos Beach Soccer tournament in Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos. The event attracted top teams from around the world and set new benchmarks in organisation, marketing, officiating, and fan engagement.
The success of COPA Lagos played a pivotal role in Nigeria earning the hosting rights for the 2016 CAF Beach Soccer Cup of Nations, further cementing Adamu’s reputation as a forward-thinking sports administrator.
He later joined CAF in Cairo, rising through the ranks from Director of Competitions to Director of Tournaments and Events, positions in which he oversaw the planning and execution of several major continental championships.
Adamu also carries a rich administrative lineage. He is the son of Amos Adamu, a towering figure in Nigerian and international sports administration. Dr Adamu served as sole administrator of the then Nigeria Football Association in the early 1990s and later as Director of Sports Development in the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports.
He was also a central figure in Nigeria’s hosting of the 8th All-Africa Games in 2003, after securing a seat on the CAF Executive Committee in 2002 in Bamako, Mali, and earning re-election during the 2004 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia. His influence extended globally when he was elected into the FIFA Executive Committee in 2006, alongside serving as Director General of the National Sports Commission.
With such a formidable background and personal track record, expectations are high that Samson Adamu will bring fresh ideas, administrative stability, and a renewed sense of purpose to CAF’s operations at a time when African football is seeking greater credibility, growth, and global competitiveness.
His tenure, though currently in an acting capacity, is already being closely watched as a potential turning point in the evolution of football governance on the continent.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
Canadian soccer took centre stage in a FIFA experiment on Saturday as the country’s top-flight league began testing a “daylight” offside rule aimed at speeding up play and encouraging attacking football.
The rule was introduced at the opening match of the Canadian Premier League season as part of efforts by global soccer authorities to cut delays caused by video reviews, reduce controversy over marginal offside decisions and shift the balance of the game in favour of attackers.
“I see this as an opportunity to grow as a coach. It’s going to give me more tools for the future,” Atletico Ottawa head coach Diego Mejia told reporters.
Under the rule, an attacker is deemed onside if any part of the body that can legally score is level with, or further away from, the goal line than the second-to-last defender. An offside offence is only given if there is visible space — the so‑called “daylight” — between the attacker and the defender.
The concept has been championed for years by former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, now FIFA’s chief of global football development, as a way to ease frustration over marginal decisions and limit delays that have fueled debate long after matches have finished.
Wenger called the Canadian experience “an important pilot.”
Players from reigning champions Atletico Ottawa and Forge FC were involved in the first application of the new rule on Saturday, including a video review triggered after a penalty award was challenged by the defending side.
Under the revised Canadian system, head coaches are allowed two challenges per match for game‑changing decisions, with the referee reviewing each appeal using video assistance.
The initial review took more than five minutes but was not centred on an offside decision, as officials assessed two possible offsides, a potential foul in the buildup and a collision between the goalkeeper and the striker that led to the penalty.
The challenge was unsuccessful.
A later offside decision using the daylight rule did not interrupt the flow of the match.
Video assistance itself is also new to the Canadian league and was used for the first time on Saturday. Some commentators said officials would need time to adapt to both the revised offside interpretation and the new technology. The system in use is not full VAR, but FIFA’s lighter Football Video Support (FVS) model.
The Canadian league’s willingness to adopt the rule has given FIFA a professional testing ground, something European leagues have so far resisted.
Critics argue the change could push defenders, particularly centre-backs, to adopt more cautious positioning.
Others say it could open space in midfield, with defenders likely to hold deeper lines.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
FIFA Unveils Nationwide ‘Canada Celebrates’ Tour for 2026 World Cup
Unity Cup Returns to London as Nigeria, Jamaica, Zimbabwe, India Clash in 2026 Edition
Outrage as Male Coach Who Secretly Filmed Women Players Still Free to Work in Football
- World Cup1 week ago
Infantino promises FIFA backing for Iran to play at World Cup
- Governing Bodies4 days ago
The Building of Another Sports Dynasty: From Fahmy to Adamu
- Boxing4 days ago
Wilder edges retiring Chisora in chaotic heavyweight boxing fight
- Nigerian Football1 week ago
NFF to inaugurate electoral committees ahead of September elections
- Table Tennis1 week ago
Aruna Faces Tough Draw as Africa Targets Glory at ITTF World Cup in Macao
- World Cup5 days ago
Italy federation chief resigns after another World Cup failure
- AWARDS3 days ago
Night of Stars: Dikko, Oshodi Lead Roll Call of Honour at 2026 Sportsville Awards
- World Cup5 days ago
Seven Nations End Long World Cup Droughts Ahead of 2026 Tournament