The governing body of Nigerian football has defended itself after its
\nvice-president reportedly blamed the poor state of women\u2019s football on
\nhomosexuality.<\/p>\n
The vice-president of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Seyi
\nAkinwunmi, made the remarks at a meeting of sports writers in the city of
\nIbadan in Nigeria\u2019s southwestern Oyo state on Saturday, according to
\nNigerian daily Punch , when listing the problems affecting female football
\nin the West African country.<\/p>\n
Akinwunmi, who said that his \u201cpassion for female football is as great as
\nit is for grassroots football,\u201d listed lower financial returns and less
\npublic interest as some of the problems blighting women\u2019s football in
\nNigeria. Then, he appeared to turn to the issue of sexuality. \u201cLesbianism
\nkills teams,\u201d said Akinwunmi, according to Punch . \u201cPeople are afraid to
\ntalk about it. The coaches take advantage of the girls, so there is much
\nmore to build in female football.\u201d<\/p>\n
The comments generated significant interest in the Nigerian media and the
\nNFF published a statement from Akinwunmi on Monday defending his comments.
\nAkinwunmi said that he had merely noted that potential sponsors considered
\nwomen\u2019s football to be \u201csynonymous with lesbianism\u201d and therefore \u201cshied
\naway from supporting the women\u2019s game.\u201d Akinwumni said that he had
\ninformed reporters that the NFF is \u201csparing no effort to correct this
\nerroneous perception and to spur the growth and development of the women\u2019s
\ngame.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Oyo State Chapter of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria\u2014which
\nhosted the event\u2014also published a statement on Monday in support of
\nAkinwunmi. The statement said that Akinwunmi\u2019s comments were \u201cbeing
\ninterpreted out of context and being promoted in negative connotations by
\nthose bent on mischief.\u201d The statement added: \u201cHis [Akinwunmi\u2019s] only
\nmention of lesbianism was in general terms and not relative to women\u2019s
\nfootball and it in no way suggests an opinion on [the] sexual orientation
\nof any player.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sexual relations between gay and lesbian couples is illegal in Nigeria and
\nnew legislation passed under former President Goodluck Jonathan in January
\n2014 criminalized same-sex marriage, members of LGBT groups and public
\ndisplays of same-sex affection, with homosexual couples facing up to 14
\nyears in prison if they break the law. During a July 2015 visit to the
\nUnited States, when the issue of legalizing same-sex marriage was raised,
\ncurrent Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari \u201cpoint blank\u201d refused to
\ndiscuss the issue, since homosexuality is \u201cabhorrent\u201d to Nigerian culture,
\naccording to presidential spokesman Femi Adesina.<\/p>\n
The Nigerian women\u2019s national team, known as the Super Falcons, are the
\nmost successful in Africa. The team have competed at every Women\u2019s World
\nCup since the competition\u2019s inception in 1991 and have triumphed in the
\nAfrica Women Cup of Nations nine times.<\/p>\n
Bisi Alimi, a Nigerian LGBT activist who came out in national television
\nin the country in 2004, says that Akinwunmi\u2019s reported comments \u201cdo not
\nappeal to common sense\u201d and should have consequences. \u201cIt\u2019s extremely
\nirresponsible and in any sane community such a statement would lead to
\nsomebody losing their job. Unfortunately it\u2019s not the same in Nigeria,\u201d
\nsays Alimi, 41, who says he fled Nigeria in 2007 after an assassination
\nattempt.<\/p>\n
The coach of Nigeria\u2019s male national team, Sunday Oliseh, recently
\nresigned citing unpaid wages and other contract violations. Alimi says he
\nis surprised Oliseh\u2019s resignation was not also blamed on homosexuality by
\nthe NFF. \u201cIs that caused by homosexuality as well? Are the homosexuals
\nholding back the hands of the government to pay the salary of the coach of
\nthe national team?\u201d says Alimi.<\/p>\n
Akinwunmi\u2019s reported comments are not the first time the issue of LGBT
\nrights in women\u2019s football has come up. Former Super Falcons coach
\nEucharia Uche came under fire in June 2011 for calling homosexuality
\n\u201cdirty\u201d and admitting she forced lesbians out of her team, AFP reported .
\nFIFA also looked into claims that Dilichukwu Onyedinma, chair of the
\nNigeria Women\u2019s Football League and an NFF executive committee member, had
\nbanned lesbianism from Nigerian football.
\nNewsweek<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The governing body of Nigerian football has defended itself after its vice-president reportedly blamed the poor state of women\u2019s football on homosexuality. The vice-president of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF),…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n