Nigerian football stakeholders have presented different proposals for reforming the country's football administration as FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) continue consultations in Abuja.

State Football Association (FA) chairmen have called for an internally led transition, while representatives of players, coaches and referees have backed a stakeholder-driven normalisation process.

The consultations began on Monday following the resignation of former Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Ibrahim Gusau and are expected to continue on Tuesday, with FIFA and CAF set to consider the positions presented by the various groups before recommending the next steps.

Yakubu Sarma, chairman of the Gombe State FA and leader of the state FA chairmen's delegation, said the state FAs support reforms but believe they should be implemented through existing NFF structures.

Proposed changes

“The key issue we presented before FIFA as Congress members representing the FAs is that Nigeria football is not in any way in crisis because our leagues are on, our clubs are playing their continental matches, our girls are playing international football and the secretariat of the NFF is functioning,” Sarma told journalists after meeting the FIFA delegation.

Sarma said the state FAs were not opposed to reform, arguing that many of the proposed changes had already been incorporated into amendments to the NFF statutes.

Representatives of players, coaches and referees, however, have called for broader participation in the process.

FIFA and CAF are expected to assess the different proposals before determining the next stage of the reform process.

The discussions come after Nigeria failed to qualify for two consecutive FIFA World Cups and a wider push by the National Sports Commission for changes to the administration of the country's football.