BREAKING: NFF To Receive $200,000 CAF Coronavirus Relief Fund

The Nigeria Football Federation is set to receive $200,000 (NGN77.4M) from the Confederation of Africa Football to help manage the financial fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.

CAF announced the measures on Thursday following a meeting via video conference of its Emergency Committee.

Africa’s football governing body said a total of $10.8mn has been approved for “immediate distribution” to all 54 member associations to help cope with the disruption from the ravaging virus.

Normal eligibility requirements to access the funds have been waived due to the exigencies occasioned by the coronavirus CAF said in a statement.

The intervention and temporary waiving of eligibility criteria for member associations mirror the decision of FIFA which recently disbursed $150mn to member associations to help with “operational costs” during the pandemic with the NFF getting $500,000 from the world football governing body.

“Due to the fast-spread of COVID-19, African MA’s have suspended all domestic competitions, which has brought about huge financial burdens on their shoulders. CAF has thus decided to waive the eligibility requirements to access the annual grants, so all MA’s can benefit during this difficult period,” CAF President Ahmad Ahmad said in a statement.

The $10.8mn disbursement to CAF member associations follows the early payment of $3.5mn of prize money two weeks ago to clubs that participated in CAF inter-club competitions this season.

Both the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup were suspended at the quarterfinal stage because of the coronavirus.

Nigeria Professional Football League sides Enugu Rangers and Enyimba received $275,000 and $350,000 for reaching the group stage and quarterfinals of the Confederation Cup respectively.

Meanwhile, CAF says it is also assessing the possibility of providing funding for member associations to help with restarting and organising domestic competitions which were halted due to the pandemic.

Football in Nigeria has been suspended since 18 March but the League Management Company is exploring various options to restart the league.

CAF says it continues to monitor the situation closely and will keep working with the relevant authorities including the Wealth Health Organization (WHO), FIFA amongst others on the impact of the virus on the continent and will announce developments to its competitions at the appropriate time.