February 16 – FIFA president Sepp Blatter is leaving no stone unturned in his determination to secure the African vote at the presidential election in May.
Blatter was conspicuous by his presence during the final stages of the recent Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea where he signed a Memorandum of Understanding between FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) over future development.
He made a point of standing with CAF president Issa Hayatou in criticising the western media over its apparent exaggeration in condemning the crowd violence that marred one of the semifinals of the competition.
CAF has already expressed its solid support for Blatter in the May 29 election but the veteran Swiss is taking no chances.
According to media reports in Nigeria, Blatter is due to meet the President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick, at FIFA headquarters in Zurich on Wednesday.
The visit comes at a sensitive time for Nigerian football which has been embroiled in internal strife over who is running the game. Blatter has formally endorsed Pinnick’s position and Wednesday’s meeting comes less than two weeks after the pair met in Equatorial Guinea where the NFF boss served as Match Commissioner for six games.
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