Nigeria is reportedly without a representative at the high-level CAF Strategy Conference taking place in Santa Maria, Sal Island, Cape Verde, in what sources have described as another reflection of the leadership vacuum currently confronting Nigerian football.

The three-day CAF Strategy Conference, which runs from October 7 to 9, has brought together football leaders from across the continent to discuss the development, sustainability and future competitiveness of African football. 

However, multiple sources familiar with the gathering told SavidNews that nobody from Nigeria attended the conference, despite CAF’s invitation to the presidents of all 54 Member Associations and senior national-team coaches.

“Nobody from Nigeria attended. We don’t have a President, and the Head Coach was engaged in Russia,” one of the sources told SavidNews.

The development is particularly significant because the conference was specifically designed to bring together the presidents of CAF’s 54 Member Associations, national-team coaches, CAF Executive Committee members, zonal union presidents and international football experts. 

Nigeria currently does not have an elected NFF president following the mass resignation of the federation’s executive leadership, including former president Ibrahim Gusau and Secretary-General Mohammed Sanusi.

The leadership crisis has already attracted the attention of FIFA and CAF, with a joint fact-finding mission visiting Nigeria last month to engage stakeholders over the situation and possible pathways towards restoring an elected leadership structure. 

The absence of an NFF president therefore created an obvious challenge for Nigeria’s representation at the Member Associations’ Strategy Meeting scheduled for Thursday, October 8, when CAF leadership and federation presidents are expected to discuss the strategic direction of African football.

The situation was further complicated by the commitments of Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle, who was with the Nigerian team for the international friendly against Russia in Nizhny Novgorod on October 6.

Nigeria’s Russia engagement came immediately before the CAF conference, with the Super Eagles travelling to Russia during the current international window. Reuters reported that Nigeria were scheduled to face Russia in Nizhny Novgorod after their AFCON 2027 qualifying fixtures. 

While Chelle’s engagement in Russia may explain the absence of the Super Eagles coach, the reported failure to have any other Nigerian football representative present raises questions about Nigeria’s institutional participation in a conference specifically convened to shape the future of African football.

CAF had announced that the conference would also involve the coaches of the African nations that participated at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, coaches of other Member Associations, women’s national-team coaches whose teams qualified for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, youth coaches and other technical experts. 

The conference is also coming at a critical moment for African football, following the continent’s record performance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where 10 African nations participated and nine progressed to the knockout phase. 

For Nigeria, the reported absence comes as the country’s football administration faces perhaps its most serious governance crisis in years. FIFA’s Council is due to consider the NFF leadership situation, with the governing body having already sent a fact-finding delegation to Nigeria. 

The timing has therefore heightened concerns among stakeholders that Nigeria could miss an important opportunity to participate directly in discussions on coaching development, youth football, governance, technical structures and sustainable football development across Africa.

The CAF Strategy Conference is expected to produce recommendations aimed at strengthening the continent’s football ecosystem and preparing African football for the 2030 FIFA World Cup cycle.

As representatives of the continent’s football leadership meet in Cape Verde, Nigeria’s reported absence is likely to generate further debate over the consequences of the unresolved leadership crisis within the NFF.