Peter Rufai Thinks Code of conduct good for the Super Eagles of Nigeria

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Former Super Eagles goalkeeper,Peter Rufai,has wholesomely supported the proposed code of conduct for national team players and their coaching crew.

Rufai is of the opinion that if the code of conduct will breach the constant misunderstanding between the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) and the Super Eagles players,then it should be implemented.

“I believe it (code of conduct) will work. The major work is not about producing it but the real test lies in implementation and monitoring of violations and all that,” Rufai told The Punch.

“I see that the technical crew and the NFF are very determined to return the country to where we used to be. And so if using a code of conduct is what will help us get there, I strongly believe we should go on with it.”

“I have listened to arguments for and against it but I have watch the current sports minister closely on how he is handling situations in both football and other sports and I can say he has done well so far. That Olympic disaster in London appears have increased his determination to change things and I guess that is the reason he is thinking this way.”

In June,the Super Eagles players threatened to boycott the FIFA Confederations Cup tournament,protesting the slashing of their match bonus by the NFF,and were reluctant to leave Namibia,after their 2014 World Cup qualifier.

It took the intervention of the Federal Government,before the players were prevailed upon to travel to Brazil.

“Yes, the players are mature and are professionals but in corporate bodies we also have rules for every staff to maintain certain standards. This is what we have coming into the team,” Rufai added.

But another ex-international,Mutiu Adepoju disagreed:“I don’t really know if it is necessary putting anything down in papers for players at this level. There just has to be understanding between the NFF and the players and things will work fine all the time. The NFF is made up of mature people and the players are professionals. Let both sides just do the right thing and there won’t be quarrels in the public,” Adepoju said.