Former NFA Chairman Anthony Kojo Williams Accuses Nigerian Sports Journalists of Complicity in Football Corruption

By 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐎𝐤𝐨𝐤𝐮

“Did we qualify for the World Cup? We didn’t win the AFCON. You cannot fault that.”

Former Nigeria Football Association chairman 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐊𝐨𝐣𝐨 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐬 was responding to the absence of Nigerian players from the 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 𝐂𝐀𝐅 𝐌𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 shortlist. His point was that the Super Eagles missed the 2026 FIFA World Cup and finished third at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, so he saw little grounds for Nigeria to fault CAF’s decision.

Williams made the remarks on 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐙𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭, whose presenters include 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞 𝐊𝐨𝐢𝐤𝐢 and 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐝𝐨. Premium Times reported his comments on 𝟏𝟐 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔.

Williams had previously made a serious accusation against Nigerian sports journalists. On 𝟐𝟎 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟎, after FIFA sanctioned 𝐀𝐦𝐨𝐬 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐮, Williams told Sunday Vanguard that sports journalists had helped Adamu retain his influence because he was giving them money.

Williams put the proportion who supported Adamu at 𝟗𝟓 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭.

The accusation came from someone who had led the NFA and seen its power struggles from the inside.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐘

𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐊𝐨𝐣𝐨 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐬 took charge of the Nigeria Football Association in 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟗. By December, Sports Minister 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐨 was publicly demanding weekly reports on the Super Eagles and warning that the NFA chairman and secretary-general would be replaced if Nigeria failed to reach the AFCON semi-finals.

Williams’s own board impeached him. The NFA records 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐎𝐧𝐞𝐲𝐚 taking over as acting chairman on 𝟏𝟕 𝐉𝐚𝐧𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟎, five days before the tournament opened.

Asked by Daily Independent what went wrong, Williams put money at the centre of the dispute. “So it was issue of money; how they were going to steal money.” He said officials, including 𝐀𝐦𝐨𝐬 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐮, wanted him to sign off on a budget running into billions for spending they would control.

He refused and proposed that the NFA administer 𝟖𝟎 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭. He said the ministry wanted to run the national team and leave him in charge of the league. He also recalled refusing to hand over money earmarked for players’ allowances when the minister sought control of it.

In a 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟑 interview with Vanguard, Williams said board members cited his alleged shouting and table-banging as their reason for removing him. He denied that account and alleged that the ministry had influenced the board.

His account of the dispute raises a question that still matters for Nigerian football. Who controls the national team’s money, who authorises the spending, and who answers for it?

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐃𝐀𝐌𝐔

In 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟐, Nigerian journalist 𝐎𝐥𝐮𝐤𝐚𝐲𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 began investigating how Adamu, a public servant, had acquired substantial business and property interests. The Guardian in Lagos published his reporting despite pressure.

After further coverage in 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟕, Adamu sued both the newspaper and Thomas. The Observer reported that Adamu sought £𝟐 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 in damages from Thomas personally, roughly ₦𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 at 2007 exchange rates.

𝐉𝐔𝐃𝐀𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐈𝐗

A few weeks after Adamu sued him, Thomas recalled crossing paths with him at a function in Abuja. Adamu greeted the journalists and walked away without recognising Thomas. Two of Thomas’s colleagues got up and followed Adamu out. Moments later, Adamu returned, approached Thomas directly and asked if he was Olukayode Thomas. When Thomas said yes, Adamu told him they would meet in court.

Thomas concluded that his two colleagues had told Adamu who he was.

The scene recalls Judas identifying Jesus to those who came to arrest him. Thomas expected solidarity from colleagues who understood what it meant to investigate a powerful official.

He wrote that colleagues sided with Adamu and that some even urged Adamu to deal with him.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐉𝐮𝐝𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. Footballers have them. Lawyers have them. Sports journalists have them too.
A journalism degree, a press credential and a code of ethics carry expectations. Those expectations are put to the test when a colleague takes on a powerful official and needs others to defend his right to ask hard questions.

Thomas said he first met the newspaper’s lawyer in court and disputed the signature on a defence statement presented as his.

He had to find his own lawyer. Both cases were dismissed in 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟎. Thomas told The Observer he was still in debt.

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐀 𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐄 𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐃

On 𝟏𝟕 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟎, Britain’s Sunday Times published a separate undercover investigation. Reporters posing as lobbyists discussed 𝐔𝐒$𝟖𝟎𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 with Adamu, ostensibly to fund four football pitches in Nigeria. The recorded discussion included a proposal to pay half before the World Cup host vote and half afterward.

FIFA imposed a 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐛𝐚𝐧 and a fine of 𝟏𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐬. Adamu denied wrongdoing and appealed. On 𝟐𝟒 𝐅𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟐, the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld the sanction in the World Cup bidding case.

𝐅𝐎𝐎𝐓𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐌 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐖𝐒𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌

𝐊𝐨𝐣𝐨 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐦𝐬’𝐬 allegation raises questions that go to the heart of brown-envelope sports journalism. Who paid whom, when, how much and what coverage followed?

Nigeria’s journalism code bars reporters from soliciting or accepting gratification to publish or suppress information. Media owners have responsibilities of their own, starting with paying their journalists fairly and on time.

In a 𝐌𝐚𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 report by Women in Journalism Africa, journalists at several Nigerian media organisations said they had been owed between 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬’ 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐲 at different points. When a newsroom sends a reporter to cover officials while owing that reporter months of wages, it creates financial pressure that can make an envelope harder to refuse.

Regular pay and newsroom-funded reporting expenses give journalists more room to do their jobs independently. The same ethics rule applies to every reporter.

Williams’s allegation also raises practical questions for the institutions involved. Can the 𝐍𝐅𝐅 disclose who funds press trips, what they cost and how reporters are selected?

Can media houses disclose sponsored travel, clearly label paid coverage and provide legal support when a public-interest investigation they publish leads to a lawsuit?

𝐓𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦.

Media owners can start with the wages they owe and the working conditions their reporters need to cover the game independently.

𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥 𝐋𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐲 𝐎𝐤𝐨𝐤𝐮
FIFA Legend | Former Nigeria Flying Eagles Vice-Captain | Former Super Eagles International | AFCON Silver Medalist | Football Historian | Football Analyst | Investigative Football Writer | Journalist-at-Large | Founder & CEO, Greater Tomorrow Children’s Fund (GTCF)

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𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬

* Premium Times, 12 November 2026, for Williams’s PlayZone remarks about the CAF awards, and the programme’s newsletter for the presenter credits. Premium Times report · The PlayZone newsletter
* Kate Obodo’s 20 November 2010 interview for Williams’s allegation about payments to sports journalists. Sunday Vanguard
* NFA historical record, Williams’s firsthand interviews and Vanguard’s 2018 retrospective for his tenure, the budget dispute and the impeachment. NFA history · Daily Independent interview · 2013 Vanguard interview · 2018 Vanguard retrospective
* Thomas’s firsthand account for the Abuja encounter, The Observer for the litigation, and Central Bank of Nigeria exchange-rate tables for the approximate naira equivalent. Thomas’s account · The Observer report · CBN exchange-rate tables
* Court of Arbitration for Sport, Amos Adamu v. FIFA, 24 February 2012, for the recorded discussions and the sanction. CAS ruling
* Nigerian Press Council, section 7 of the Code of Ethics for Nigerian Journalists, for the rule on gratification. Code of Ethics
* AFP’s contemporaneous report. Mail & Guardian⁠, 16 December 1999
* Women in Journalism Africa, Labour Abuse: How Nigerian Journalists Struggle to Survive, 1 May 2026. Read the report⁠
* BBC World Service Trust, African Media Development Initiative: Nigeria Context, on unpaid wages and financial pressure on reporters. Read the report⁠

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