ABSTRACT
Sports has become a phenomenon that has cut across all barriers, whether ethnic, religion or racial and it has become an edifying vehicle for the development of young people. Internationally, sports has become a factor in determining the supremacy of a country over others. The International Association of Football Federations (FIFA) was founded in 1904 to regulate and develop international football and protect the interests of its members. To achieve this aim, FIFA introduced a statute, which was reviewed in 2003 (FIFA, 2003). The statutes indicated that only the association which is responsible for organisation and supervision of football in its country may become a member of FIFA (Article 10) and members are required to comply fully with the statutes, regulations, objectives and decisions of FIFA bodies at all times (Article 13a). National football associations (FA) in Africa are members of FIFA by virtue of Article 10 and so are required to act in accordance to the demands of Article 13(a). One of the sections of the statutes that require total compliance by associations is Article 17 which requires total autonomy for FIFA members and does not permit interference from any external body. In recent developments, the provision of this section of the statutes has been facing a lot of problems, most especially in Africa.
