I’m humbled by FIFA appointment —Pinnick

President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, says he is humbled by his appointment on Thursday, as a member of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Organising Committee.

Nigeria recorded a major milestone in football, when the federation received a letter from world football body, FIFA, dated August 14, 2015 and signed by its Secretary General, Jerome Valcke. Continue..

The letter, addressed to Pinnick, read, “We are very pleased to inform you that you have been appointed as a member of the Organising Committee for the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Please accept our sincere congratulations on this nomination.

“We wish you success and enjoyment in this role at FIFA and look forward to welcoming you soon in Zurich.”

The 2017 U-20 World Cup will be staged in Korea Republic.

Pinnick, who is also a member of the CAF Organising Committee for the Africa Cup of Nations, told our correspondent, “Honestly, I’m humbled by the appointment. I will represent Nigeria very well. The honour is not for me but for the country.”

On how he has been able to occupy top positions in CAF and FIFA in less than one year in charge of Nigerian football, he added, “It’s not about me but about the country, which gave me the opportunity to serve. We are the most populous black nation and its normal that we get top positions in football because of our contributions to the game.”

The NFF boss said the appointment would further help project Nigerian football in good light.

“I have always maintained that our country is too big to be a silent member of the international football community. This will certainly encourage our efforts home and abroad to project Nigerian football positively. I insist that Nigeria has the quantity and quality of population to excel in several areas of endeavour globally,” he told the NFF website.

Late Patrick Okpomo, a former Secretary General of the then Nigeria Football Association, was also a member of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Organising Committee.

Pinnick served for eight years as Chairman of the Delta State Football Association, and was match commissioner in six games at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.