National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, has taken Nigeria’s football diplomacy beyond the pitch, leading high-level strategic talks in Morocco on the sidelines of the 2025 AFCON to design a new blueprint aimed at repositioning Nigerian football. It will serve as a catalyst for job creation, unity and sustainable national development.

Yilwatda was part of the Federal Government of Nigeria’s official delegation to Morocco during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), where he joined Nigerians at home and abroad in rallying support for the Super Eagles. The visit came at a historic moment, as the national team finished strongly to clinch third place at the continental tournament, rekindling national pride and unity.

Beyond supporting the team, Yilwatda used the opportunity to engage in high-level strategic engagements aimed at redefining the future of Nigerian football as a catalyst for national development.

On the sidelines of AFCON in Rabat, a session was convened to explore how Nigeria can deliberately harness football to promote unity, create jobs for young people, and build sustainable sports infrastructure nationwide.

The session, facilitated by the Director General of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Mr Silas Ali Agara, brought together political leadership, global football diplomacy and technical expertise.

It was driven by a shared objective: to adapt lessons from Morocco’s widely acclaimed sports development model into a practical Nigerian framework that delivers measurable outcomes.

At the heart of the discussions was the recognition that Morocco’s football success was the result of long-term planning, coherent policy choices and sustained investment.
(Media and Communications Strategy)
January 19, 2026.