…as Renewed Hope Unity Cup organisers makes NFF boss patron
Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Ibrahim Musa Gusau, who also doubles as the President of the West Africa Football Union (WAFU-B), will declare open a three-day Women’s Football Administrators Workshop which is scheduled to hold from 26th to 28th April, 2026 in Wuye, Abuja.
According to the organisers, while the workshop is part of efforts to strengthen the development of the women’s game across the West Africa subregion, it is also expected to witness the assemblage of chairpersons of women’s football Commissions and heads of women’s football departments from the seven WAFU-B member nations comprising Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger Republic, Benin Republic and Togo.
Important regional football leaders expected at the workshop are WAFU-B Executive Director, Philippe Tchere; CAF Head of Women’s Football, Meskerem Goshime; WAFU-B Women’s Football Commission President, Amina Amani and Women’s Football Development Manager, Precious Dede, who will also serve as one of the facilitators alongside Goshime and CAF instructors Jules McGeever and Thuba Sibanda.
The workshop, expected to feature a series of presentations and interactive sessions over three days, also highlights the growing efforts by regional and continental football bodies to accelerate the development and professionalisation of women’s football on the continent.
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Meanwhile, organisers of the Renewed Hope Unity Cup Football Competition on Wednesday have appointed the NFF President as patron of the competition.
The investiture, performed by the national coordinator Honourable Suleiman Yahaya-Kwande, a former NFF Executive Committee Member and current Chairman of the Plateau State Football Association, said it was a strategic effort aimed at garnering additional backing and fostering collaboration for the highly anticipated 2026 Renewed Hope Unity Cup competition. The meeting concentrated on strengthening partnerships and galvanising support for the national youth empowerment, unity and talent development initiative.
The Renewed Hope Unity Cup is a pioneering competition designed to involve all 774 Local Government Areas across Nigeria, uniting young Nigerians through the influence of sports.
Kwande, who is spearheading the initiative, introduced the project with a decisive statement, branding it “À Goal Nigeria,” which he characterised as a straightforward directive: “Asiwaju Go On And Lead Nigeria.”
He highlighted that the competition transcends merely discovering football talent, as it also aims to establish a platform for youth empowerment, fostering unity, and contributing to national development.
Gusau described the competition as a “noble initiative” which is fully in tandem with the mission of the present NFF administration to develop football from the grassroots.
He said, This is a welcome idea, and I am excited to be a patron of the initiative. As the football-governing body in the country, the NFF will play an active role and watch keenly for those exceptional talents that can break into the various national teams through the competition.”
