Nigeria's suspension from international football imminent

[Richard Akindele]

Fifa president Sepp Blatter has told BBC Sport that Nigeria could be suspended from international football before the start of the World Cup finals on 9 June.

"We are going to discuss the suspension of Nigeria during our next executive committee meeting," Blatter told BBC Sport.

The meeting in the German city of Munich, scheduled to take place on 4 and 5 June, is expected to take a firm stand on the conflict between the board of the Nigeria FA (NFA) and Seidu Sambawa, the country's sports minister.

Ibrahim Galadima, re-elected to a four-year term as NFA chairman at the 29 December elections in Kano, has been unable to function from its Abuja headquarters after the police, on the orders of government officials, sealed off the premises.

Sambawa questioned the validity of the elections and claimed the financial integrity of Galadima has been questioned by a parliamentary report that examined the NFA's finances.

But Galadima, whose re-election as NFA chairman was subsequently given a Fifa seal of approval, has denied the charges of impropriety laid against him and is prepared to defend his reputation in court.

The conflict between Galadima and Sambawa led to the former's inability to travel to the African Cup of Nations finals, after he was denied a visa to travel with the national team to Egypt.

Officials of the world governing body, who regard the actions of the sports minister as direct interference in the affairs of the NFA - a violation of Fifa's statutes - have described the Nigerian situation as "rotten."

In addition, the West African nation is yet to complete reforms to its football statutes, guaranteeing the NFA's independence, after Fifa gave it a reprieve from a ban at the end of 2004.