The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has refuted the claim by Wilson Raj Perumal, a convicted Singaporean match-fixer, that he helped the Super Eagles to qualify for the 2010 Federation International de Football Association, FIFA, World Cup finals in South Africa.
Perumal claimed to have ensured Nigeria’s qualification for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa by enticing the Mozambican national team with a promise of $100,000 if they would hold Tunisia to a draw in Maputo and ensure that Nigeria qualified for the competition.
In a statement in Abuja on Tuesday, Musa Amadu, NFF’s General Secretary, dismissed the claim, describing it as a distinct fiction. While refuting the allegation, Amadu stressed that the true heroes of Nigeria’s qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals were the Federal Government, the NFF, players and coaches of the Super Eagles and the generality of Nigerian football fans.
“We have gone through the fictitious write-up by the Singaporean, who was fittingly convicted for his nefarious activities and has spent time in jail. The NFF will only say at this moment that there was no truth to the claim and that we had nothing to do with Perumal all through the Super Eagles’ qualifying series for 2010 FIFA World Cup. Perumal’s statements are hogwash and have no legs to stand on. We have ordered for the book itself, with a view to digesting it and looking critically at it. If the book impugns on the image of the Nigeria Football Federation, our players and the larger image of our dear country, we will take appropriate action,” Amadu said.
Although there is yet to be any reaction from the world football governing body, but there are reports that communication between NFF’s Match-Fixing Investigation Officer, Christain Emeruwa and FIFA is ongoing.
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