The Athletics Federation of Nigeria issued a communique at the end of its meeting with club owners in Abuja on Tuesday April 30th still insisting that clubs and state AAAs must re-register their athletes for the 2013 Athletics season.
The communique signed by Rita Akande, the AFN Assistant Secretary, reads:
It would be recalled that The Technical Committee of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria at the beginning of this Year’s season came up with some slight changes in the Golden League rules to reflect its strategy of making its elite athletes programme to be performance based. This includes the Golden League and All Nigeria Athletics Championships. The 2013 AFN Golden League was thus commenced on this new standards beginning with the Shagamu meet.
Unfortunately, the indisciplined behaviour put up by the performing athletes during the 2nd Leg of the Golden League in Benin city, Edo State on Saturday 27th April 2013 led to the suspension of the League and the subsequent ban slammed on the ring leaders of that unruly action. The actions taken were to avert the complete breakdown of law and order and the protection of the law abiding athletes.
Consequently, the Technical Committee was directed to meet with the critical stakeholders which are the states AAA and Athletics club owners/managers in order to brief them on the development as well as to collectively find a way forward. A total of 12 clubs were represented at the meeting.
At the end of the deliberations, the following decisions were reached:
1. The States AAAs/Club Owners/military and para military club owners present were of the opinion that every genuine reform process would naturally come with resistance and so the action of the athletes could be traced that natural phenomenon of resistance to change.
2. The Club Owners noted the AFN Technical strategic plan to be good and gave their full support to it. This includes the strategic plan of making the League performance-based. The Club Owners therefore lent their full support to the suspension of the League, but pleaded that with the number of clubs already in the process of meeting the conditions set for re-registration, the Board should reconsider the decision to suspend the League.
3. It was agreed that AFN set standards should be upheld in other to encourage improved performance of our athletes. In addition, apart from points gained for achieving National Record performance, such performances should attract additional financial rewards.
4. All athletes interested in competing in the League must register and compete under a State AAA/Club or Para Military body. Unattached athletes would no longer be entertained. Only exception is at the All Nigeria Championships where foreign based athletes can participate on invitation as unattached.
5. The Federation should henceforth only deal directly with States AAA/Clubs, military or para military organizations. This includes payment of deserving rewards and incentives. These bodies would henceforth take responsibility for their athletes conduct.
6. Every State AAA/Clubs, Military and Para Military clubs should be given the wherewithal and time to avail their athletes of the full contents of the AFN Code of Conduct. Thereafter, their athletes would sign the attestation form attached to the Code of Conduct which shall be returned to the Federation.
7. State AAAs/clubs/military and para military clubs that want to take part in future arranged AFN programmes must apply to re-register their athletes for the 2013 Athletics season.
