The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has initiated an appeal following FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee’s decision to dismiss its protest against the Democratic Republic of Congo, Completesports.com reports.
The protest questioned the eligibility of certain players fielded by Congo in a decisive 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying playoff.
After finishing 1–1 in both regulation and extra time, the Leopards triumphed 4–3 in the penalty shootout to claim victory.
The NFF alleged irregularities in the issuance of passports that allowed certain DR Congo players to feature in the encounter.
NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, confirmed that the federation had received the ruling, but would challenge it through FIFA’s judicial procedures.
“We have received the decision of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee on our petition, but we are not satisfied with the decision, which rejected our petition,” Sanusi told thenff.com.
“I want to assure Nigerians that the NFF has immediately commenced the process of appealing the decision.”
With the initial complaint now dismissed by FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee, the NFF will seek a review of the case through the appeal process in an effort to overturn the ruling.
(Complete Sports)
