ABUJA - Nigeria will be banned from international football unless a court decision that sacked the country's recently elected FA executives is not overturned by tomorrow, Fifa has announced.
A leadership crisis has bedevilled the African champions for the past four months despite several interventions by Fifa, that has now warned it will slap a lengthy ban on it.
Last week, a group led by Chris Giwa secured a court ruling that sacked the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) executive committee led by Amaju Pinnick.
Giwa, who maintains he was elected NFF president on August 26 although Fifa refused to recognise it, took the matter to court in contravention of the world governing body's statutes forbidding football issues to be deliberated in a civil court.
But a letter from Fifa secretary-general Jérôme Valcke to Pinnick, who was elected NFF president on September 30, said the body had extended the deadline for Nigeria until tomorrow as an opportunity to avoid a ban.
"We inform you that if by Friday October 31 2014 at midday Nigerian time we have not received proof that the case [the Jos Federal High Court ruling that sacked the Pinnick-led NFF board] has been definitively withdrawn from court and that the board elected on September 30 2014 is able to carry out its activities without any hindrance, we will refer the case to the Fifa Emergency Committee for implementation of the suspension ," Valcke stated in his letter.
The NFF has appealed the court ruling and also requested a stay of execution . - AFP