By Mark Baber
October 31 – The day before the expiry of a FIFA deadline for his court case to be withdrawn, and following intervention from Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, Chris Giwa’s faction has withdrawn its case against Amaju Pinnick and his newly elected board, forestalling a possible FIFA ban for government interference.
By Mark Baber
October 28 – Secretary General of FIFA, Jerome Valcke, has written to Amaju Pinnick, one of the two men claiming to be head of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), to say that unless a court case seeking to annul the disputed September 30 NFF elections is withdrawn Nigeria will be suspended.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 29 – Preparations for the Club World Cup in Morocco in December are continuing “as planned” even though the country has asked to be replaced as host for the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) the following month due to fears over the spread of the Ebola epidemic.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 28 – Tributes continue to pour in following the murder of South African captain Senzo Meyiwa, with teammates speaking of their “utter devastation” and the country increasingly outraged at the shooting during what appeared to be a botched robbery.
By Mark Baber
October 27 – President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Issa Hayatou spoke out over the weekend on Nigeria’s football administration crisis, saying he had managed to delay a ban until after the African Women Championship final between Nigeria and Cameroon, which the country won 2-0, but that a ban was likely to be imposed on Monday.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 27 – South African football has been plunged into mourning after national team captain Senzo Meyiwa was shot dead by intruders at his girlfriend’s home.
By Mark Baber
October 24 – The Nigerian High Court sitting in Jos on Thursday held that the disputed September 30 elections for the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) Board, in which Amaju Pinnick was elected President, were invalid, upholding the disputed August 26 election in which Chris Giwa was elected President.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 20 – The troubled African Cup of Nations has received a further blow with the news that South Africa, which has already stepped in twice to rescue the tournament in recent years, may not be willing to do so again.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 17 – Once again a new venue looks like being needed for the African Cup of Nations after next year’s hosts Morocco reportedly pulled out because of fears over the Ebola virus.
By Mark Baber
October 16 – The first meeting of the new Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation, following the disputed but FIFA-supported election of Amaju Pinnick as President, has sacked national team coach Stephen Keshi (pictured) whilst appointing Dilichukwu Onyedinma, who caused international controversy with her campaign to drive lesbians out of Nigerian football, as Deputy Chair of the Committee of Ethics and Fair Play.
By Andrew Warshaw
October 16 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has agreed to discuss a plea by organisers of next year’s African Nations Cup to postpone the 16-nation tournament because of the ebola crisis but stressed there are currently no plans to shift it.
By Mark Baber
October 9 – The immediate past President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Aminu Maigari, Secretary-General Musa Amadu and others escaped imprisonment for contempt of court on Wednesday by not turning up to court.
By Mark Baber
October 8 – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced seven bidders in the competition to host the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations; Algeria, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Sudan and Zimbabwe.
By Mark Baber
October 8 – FIFA is this week working together with the Djibouti Football Federation (FDF) to deliver a 5-day training course to 31 local journalists which, it is hoped, will raise the standard of professionalism in football coverage in the country and, it is hoped, bring the Djibouti Premier League to an international audience.
By Mark Baber
October 6 – Hearings on Wednesday in Jos will determine the future of many of Nigeria’s football administrators, ironically just at the point when it looks like the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) is finally putting its house in order, with some help from FIFA.