Get Guardian on Google• Tinubu backs CAF Secretary-General emergence, approves CAF assembly in Abuja, Awards in Lagos
The new Secretary-General of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Dr Samson Adamu, has said that he would prioritise grassroots football development and effective management of competitions while in office.
Adamu, who also pledged to bring football back to the hearts of Africans, said he would use his new position to strengthen African football and create greater opportunities for Nigeria and other member associations.
Speaking during a visit to the Presidency on Tuesday, Adamu said Nigeria’s football development was inseparable from the growth of the game across Africa, stressing that the country could not achieve sustainable progress in isolation.
“If African football grows, Nigerian football grows also at the same time. And Nigerian football cannot grow by itself; it needs to grow also by competing with all the other African nations,” he said.
The new CAF Secretary-General described his appointment as a historic honour and an opportunity to contribute to the advancement of football across the confederation’s 54-member associations.
He acknowledged the support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima, particularly the Federal Government’s backing for Nigeria’s hosting of the two major CAF events.
Adamu disclosed that the General Assembly in Abuja would bring together representatives of all 54 member associations, football administrators and other stakeholders from across the continent.
On his priorities, he pledged to draw on his eight years of experience as CAF Director of Competitions, Tournaments and Events to strengthen the organisation and improve the planning and delivery of continental competitions.
Describing competitions as the core business of CAF, he said his experience would help raise organisational standards and improve the quality of the confederation’s football programmes.
He also identified grassroots development, effective player-development pathways and improved capacity for referees and coaches as critical to sustainable football growth.
“You cannot have good football without proper grassroots and player pathways, and the referees and the coaches and all of the things,” he said.
Reaffirming his vision for the continental game, Adamu declared: “I will bring football back to the heart of African football.”
Earlier, President Tinubu said that the government had moved to strengthen Nigeria’s position in African football, backing the country’s growing influence in the continental game following the emergence of Samson Adamu as Secretary-General of the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
As part of the effort, the President has approved Nigeria’s hosting of the 48th Ordinary CAF General Assembly in Abuja on November 21, 2026, while Lagos will host the CAF Awards ceremony in December.
Tinubu was represented by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, at the reception for Adamu, the first Nigerian to occupy the CAF administrative position, alongside the Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko, and other football administrators at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The President congratulated Adamu on his appointment, describing his emergence as a source of national pride and evidence that Nigerians could attain the highest levels of continental sporting administration through competence, discipline and dedication.
He urged relevant authorities to consider the new CAF Secretary-General for national honours, noting that his achievement could inspire younger Nigerians to pursue excellence not only in sports but also in administration, governance and institution-building.
Shettima, speaking on behalf of Tinubu, said Nigeria’s achievements in football depended not only on athletes but also on the administrators, talent developers and institutions responsible for identifying and nurturing sporting talents.
“Behind the triumph stands the people who make it happen; the minds that organise, the hands that prepare and the institutions that give our students a fighting chance,” he said.
The Vice-President lamented that football administrators were often underappreciated despite their contributions, sometimes becoming convenient targets of public criticism.
He also highlighted football’s capacity to unite Nigerians across ethnic, religious and political divides, saying the passion surrounding the national teams often overrides other identities.
“Football, especially, is a uniting force. Any time Nigeria plays, it tends to subdue other identities,” he said.
Using the country’s cultural diversity to illustrate the strength of national integration, Shettima said generations of Nigerians had established homes and identities outside their ancestral communities, making the country’s unity difficult to undermine.
“When people talk about the dismemberment of this country, I laugh at them because they know next to nothing about this country. It is very difficult to remove the building blocks holding this country together,” he said.
