FIFA studying report before acting on Nigeria president’s bid to ban national team for 2 years

FIFA not yet ready to act on Nigeria’s soccer ban

JOHANNESBURG — Nigeria has told FIFA it has banned its national team from international competition for two years following its poor performance at the World Cup.

FIFA is studying the ban to decide whether it should be considered government interference — which could result in a ban being imposed by soccer’s governing body.

FIFA demands that national federations operate independently from governments, or face suspension from international soccer. Such a penalty extends beyond the national team, to club teams from playing in international competitions and bars officials from attending FIFA meetings.

“We have been now officially informed of that and we are looking at this case,” FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot said Thursday at the daily World Cup briefing. “We need a little bit of time. … We are not at the step of taking sanctions.”

Nigeria is next scheduled to play in early September, at home against Madagascar in a qualifier for the 2012 African Cup of Nations.

Nigeria president Goodluck Jonathan ordered the Super Eagles to sit out international competition for two years Wednesday as punishment for their poor showing in South Africa. The Nigerians were eliminated from the World Cup with only one point, which came from a 2-2 draw with South Korea in their last game.

Nigeria lost to Argentina 1-0 in its Group B opener, and was beaten 2-1 by Greece in a game that turned on the first-half red card to midfielder Sani Kaita.

If FIFA does suspend Nigeria, it could threaten the Nigeria’s place in the Under-20 Women’s World Cup, which begins July 13 in Germany. The club team Heartland also could lose its spot in the African Champions League.

On Thursday, Nigerian lawmakers intervened to try and resolve the situation. The House of Representatives passed a resolution calling on the president to rescind the ban, while also asking a legislative committee to open an investigation into the World Cup performance.

The dispute has arisen despite Nigeria being represented on FIFA’s ruling executive committee. Amos Adamu has had a seat on the powerful 24-member group since 2006.

Associated Press Writers Bashir Adigun in Abuja, Nigeria, and Jon Gambrell in Lagos, Nigeria, contributed to this report.