FIFA Executive Council Seat : Sanni Toro laments Pinnick’s loss

Reactions have continued to trail the failure of former NFF President Amaju Pinnick’s inability to retain his position as a FIFA Executive Council member with the latest coming from former Secretary General of Nigeria Football Association, Alhaji Sani Toro who described it as unfortunate.

Pinnick on Wednesday narrowly lost reelection into the World Football Executive Council seat, losing by a single vote at the poll that took place as part of the 14th CAF Extraordinary Congress in Cairo, Egypt on Wednesday.

The former NFF President scored 28 votes, only one short of both Ahmed Yahya of Mauritania and Souleman Hassan Waberi of Djibouti, who each scored 29 votes to make it to the exalted panel.

Morocco’s Fouzi Lekjaa swept 49 votes, with Egypt’s Hany Abou Rida and Niger Republic’s Djibrilla Hima Hamidou netting 35 votes each.

Lekjaa, Rida, Hamidou, Yahya and Waberi will join CAF President Patrice Motsepe, unopposed for a second term, as Africa’s representatives at the FIFA Council, alongside Kanizat Ibrahim from the Comoros Island who collected the women’s seat by scoring 30 votes, as against 13 for former FIFA Council and IOC Member Lydia Nsekera and seven for incumbent Isha Johansen.
Toro told newstap.com.ng shortly after the election that it is a great loss to Africa generally and Nigeria in particular noting that it’s sad that Nigeria will not be in FIFA and CAF Executive Committees despite the country’s participations in both FIFA, CAF and WAFU competitions.

According to him, Nigeria is the only country in Africa that has good showing in both male and female football globally and deserves to have a place in the Executive Council of FIFA noting that the loss is a big blow to Nigerian football
” It’s really unfortunate that the most populous black nation on earth which also boasts of good showings in both male and female football in the world will not have any representative in FIFA Executive Council which to me is a big loss to this great country
” What this means is that a country as big as Nigeria will not have a voice on world football and it’s a wake up call for our football administrators to buckle up and be fully involved in the politics of the game to avoid a repeat occurance”, he concluded