FIFA Is Like A Mafia - Amos Adamu

A former DG of the National Sports
Commission (NSC), Dr. Amos Adamu has
disclosed that he led a cabal in Sports in
Nigeria during his tenure in office before his
retirement.
In this interview with Aderonke Bello of
Naij.com in Abuja, the former FIFA and CAF
Executive member who was banned from
footballing activities for corruption said he
was used as a sacrificial lamb by Sepp
Blatter, the now suspended FIFA President.
He also explained that FIFA is run like a
mafia and also admitted that FIFA is a
corrupt organization.

Naij.com: How has life been outside football?
Adamu: Life has been normal for me. I don’t
think there is life after football because am
already in sports. I did not come into sports
by the way. I have a PHD degree in sports
administration.
All my life, all my work have been in sports.
Even when am not doing anything official,
it’s still sports. I talk to people on sports
everyday and talk to my students about
sports.

Check out the interview below

Many of the children that I lectured and are
now doing well in sports like the secretary of
the Nigeria football federation when he was
doing NCE, Alhassan Yakmut, the current DG
of the national sports commission. My
friends are mostly in sports. My life is all in
sports.
Naij.com: You were a lecturer at a time, what
do you think about the level of education
especially sports education in the country
looking at the fact that sport has
deteriorated? What has gone wrong? What
can we do?
Adamu: Let me correct you. Sports have
never gone down. For example Nigeria just
became champions of the world at U-17
level.
Which aspects of our lives do we go out to
compete with the rest of the world and we
come out as number one; is it education, is it
agriculture, is it military?
People have the perception that if you go for
an even and you don’t win gold, you are
going down. NO. Every individual has his own
personal best. Its like asking you to come run
100 meters and am rating you with the best
in the world. Maybe in your life you have
never run 100m in 20 mins and am putting
you on a track and you ran 19mins, have you
not done your personal best?
People always look at us like we are not
doing well in sports but people should
appreciate what we do in sports. But people
should look at what investment Nigeria is
putting into this games. We are not investing
and we want to reap. Put more investment
there like it is in other sectors and sports will
prevail.
When you look at Africa, we are number one
in more than 60% of all sport in the world. In
Chess, we became number one in the world.
That is to show that sports giving Nigeria a
good image.
Usually when you go to anywhere in the
world and you say you are from Nigeria, the
first thing that strikes you is football, sports.
We in sports, (not those who veer off their
profession and come to sports like
accountant and soldiers) because most of
the time they come to corrupt us in sport.
Professionally I think we are trying our best
and educational wise we have a lot of people
in sports. Today, people not appreciate what
sport is. When we started in the university,
they called us jumpology, they think we are
not using brain,we are just going on the pitch
and playing but now you see can make
money in sport.
The production of physical education
teachers in the country is not much and so
we are just coping. Now people have realised
that sport is a great thing and people are
coming in and I believe we are progressing.
Naij.com: You were banned by FIFA and it
was a serious tussle. You were accused of
corruption, how corrupt are you?
Adamu: What is my corruption? They say
there was this bidding for the world cup and
people came from America saying they
wanted to develop football in Nigeria. They
said they wanted they would build pitches for
us and how much does a pitch cost?
N200,000 and N800,000 in every zone for the
pitches.
They say ‘can we give the money to you?’ I
said no its not about the money. Do your
thing and buy your pitches and bring it to
Nigeria by importing it.

Am not going to play football and it’s for the
development of football for the country. In
that situation everyone started saying Adamu
is corrupt. I say am not corrupt. My
conscience was clear that I was not corrupt.
I went through the right process.
Korea wrote in writing and FIFA saw it that
they will build pitches for us if we vote them
for the world cup. Australia, England wrote
the same thing and FIFA knew about it. I
don’t see any difference between the all the
ways we were approached to vote for bidding
countries.
Naij.com: Somebody once accused you of
leading a ‘cabal’ in sports. Up till now people
still talk about the cabal you left. Did you
really lead the cabal?
Adamu: Yes I led the cabal. Who are the
cabals? The professionals. Even the person
who accused me of leading a cabal does not
have any background in sports.
Before I left the NSC, in 60 years that Nigeria
had been competing in the Olympics, Nigeria
won a total of 23 medals. Out of those 23,
20 were won during my time in power. When
I left, they went to the Olympics in England
and didn’t win anything.
If I didn’t lead a cabal, would they have
achieved those things? When you want to do
the right thing, you must get the people to
help you do the right thing or else you would
not achieve anything.
I can boast that the best we had in sports in
Nigeria was during my time. All the gold
medals we had at the Olympics was during
my time.
Yes, am a mafia yes but my actions produced
results. I remember when some ministers
were coming in, it was to remove Amos
Adamu.
They would say that man has problems,
when they come and they see the good
things am doing they change their mind.
For me actually, I do not know what is a
cabal, my name is Amos Adamu. If you say
am a cabal and what am doing is right and
producing positive results, yes I accept am a
cabal.
Naij.com: There was a video to that effect…?
Adamu: There was nothing more than that in
the video. They edit video and show the
world what they want. If you want the video I
can give you the complete video.
Naij.com: Do you think it was a set up?
Adamu: It must be. I told Sepp Blatter (FIFA
president) then that this you are doing
because you want people to think you are
fighting corruption will come back to haunt
all of you there. It will haunt everybody
saying they will provide pitches for everybody
who votes for them.
What is making people see me as corrupt is
because am no longer in charge and you are
presenting me as corrupt but this things will
come back to haunt people.
Looke at Jerome Vacke (FIFA PS), South
Africa gave him millions to give CONCACAF,
what is the money for? You can hide truth for
a time but it will come out after some time.

Do you think Blatter’s hand was the unseen
hand in your ban and all that? I know there
are other reasons why they took it like that. I
can tell you one of them. They told me this is
not about you but about your country.
They said ‘while we were hosting U-17 here
in your country, your president signed a
document for FIFA that they should do
security and Nigeria will pay after the
tournament.’ ‘When they finished the
tournament, Nigeria did not pay them the
$40m and they have a letter from the
president.’
Naij.com: Who was the president then?
Adamu: Musa Yar’Adua was the president
then. I was there when they were signing the
documents and fighting about it. I said the
president is sick and cannot approve the
funds until he was well. The president didn’t
survive and they said they can never trust a
Nigerian to even be the CAF president again.
Naij.com: I read a piece somewhere and you
were quoted saying your ban was a sort of
sacrificial? What sacrifice will that be sir?
Adamu: Sacrificial because Jonathan was
going for election and they will say I was
corrupt. The leader seeking power will say he
will fight corruption and Jonathan said so
and he dealt with me.
Naij.com: You had a good relationship with
Blatter?
Adamu: You see when interest comes in its
no longer a relationship.
Naij.com: What is your relationship with Issa
Hayatou (CAF and acting FIFA president)?
Adamu: It is cordial, very cordial.
Naij.com: How did Hayatou reacted to your
ban?
Adamu: He was not happy. He talked about it
and when you are fighting a mafia like FIFA
it’s hard. When a mafia wants to deal with
you, they will deal with you no matter what
you do. They will suppress the truth.
They told me to resign and I didn’t. I fought
for the truth until they booted me out. They
took money, I never took money.
A company in London gave Blatter free
accommodation during the Olympics and he
accepted it and when Britain did not win the
bidding, they cancelled it and it was all in the
open. Is that not corruption? These things
have gone and I have forgotten all about it.
Naij.com: Sir you cannot forget all about it.
Few weeks ago FIFA opened a probe on you.
What is your take?
Adamu: I have written to FIFA asking what
they are probing me for
Naij.com: Has anyone contacted you to know
your take on things?
Adamu: Nobody has
Naij.com: You are not afraid of any probes?
Adamu: If you on the ground will you be
afraid of falling down again? The worst has
happened. I can face anybody. My hands are
clean.