…insists relationship with players cordial
President of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick has debunked claims that the football glasshouse was being run by a ‘cabal’. According to him, no such thing exists.
He said this in a monitored interview on television in Lagos last weekend. Pinnick noted that he always put Nigeria first in all he and everyone under his leadership does before any personal interest.
In his words “I laugh a lot because Nigerians believe that everything is controlled by a cabal. If you look at my language, I use, “we”, not I and that we includes myself, Seyi Akinwumi, Shehu Dikko, Dr. Sanusi Mohammed, the General Secretary, members of the executive committee.
If you want to carry people along, they say it is a cabal. If you want to do it alone, they say you don’t carry people along, but the word “cabal” does not exist in Nigerian football under my leadership. I always tell, not just the players, but the administrators, that we must always think of Nigeria first in anything we are doing. It is very key to whatever we want to achieve. You must have that in-built in you. That is what I say to all of them.”
Pinnick, who also doubles as the first Vice President of the Confederations of African Football (CAF), also said that it is important for football leaders to have a cordial relationship with his players, to get the best of them.
It is important to have a build a very strong relationship with not just the players, but their family. I can tell you clearly that I have been touched with Victor Moses, because I have a very smooth relationship with him. We talk regularly.
“When I travel to London, I can call Alex Iwobi and we hang out. It is a psychological thing. Don’t let them have the feeling of seeing you as a high and old President; make them feel you and you will get their best” he said.
