The President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau, yesterday implored the organizers of the annual Nigeria Pitch Awards to ensure that nothing ever happens to compel them to compromise the integrity of the project or lower the high standards for which the awards are known.

Speaking in his office while receiving Mr Shina Phillips, President of Nigeria Pitch Awards and Pastor Nelson Olafisoye, Chief Operating Officer, Gusau underscored that the NFF has continued to endorse the awards because of the integrity of the process and the credibility that the project has maintained over its 12 years of existence.

"The NFF has continued to endorse the Nigeria Pitch Awards because we are satisfied with the transparency of the process and credibility of the results, which gives it high integrity. We will always do our best to support positive projects that contribute to the development of the Nigeria game.

"People love to be appreciated for what they are doing. Awards serve to recognize and reward different actors in a particular sector, and when people are appreciated and rewarded, they tend to make more effort and improve on their delivery. If everyone in the Nigeria football ecosystem makes more effort and improves on their delivery, we will be at a very high level in a very short time."

Phillips, who was enamoured by the NFF supremo's words, pledged that the organizers would never relent in their commitment to a transparent and credible awards project.