Corruption has been the bane of Nigerian public and private life for many years. Corruption has eaten so deeply into the fabric of Nigerian culture that it has been embraced as a way of life, it is an undeniable reality. In Nigeria, corruption has taken on a new sense, with only those who have been caught in the act of theft being labeled as corrupt. Corruption is perpetuated in the sports industry, especially in football, by the awarding of contracts, the hiring of coaches, the use of referees on the field of play, the election of board members, and the selection of players, among other things. Much of this revolves around the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), formerly the Nigerian Football Association (NFA), which is a federal government body under the sports ministry tasked with the creation of football in Nigeria. According to stakeholders in the football industry, corruption has wreaked havoc on the advancement of the sport in Nigeria. It has been so pervasive that former Nigerian Senate President
David Mark described the Nigeria Football Federation as the most corrupt government agency in the country during one of house's sittings in 2013. No one knows exactly when football began in Nigeria, but one thing is certain: Nigerians began playing the game for fun and relaxation long before the Nigeria Football Association was established (NFA). It is commonly thought that former British colonial masters introduced football to
Nigeria as early as 1914, after Lord Lugard's amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria. ==Presidents==