GENEVA — FIFA provisionally lifted Nigeria's suspension from world football on Friday, allowing it 48 hours to prepare for an African Cup of Nations qualifier that had been postponed this week.
Nigerian Football Federation official Musa Amadu told The Associated Press that the Super Eagles will travel to Guinea for the scheduled match in Conakry in Sunday following FIFA's "magnanimous" decision.
"We are happy that the ban has been lifted even if it is temporary," Amadu said. "It will allow us to continue with our programs unhindered."
The qualifying match was postponed after FIFA imposed the suspension on Monday, preventing Nigerian teams and officials from taking part in international matches and meetings.
FIFA rules protect its members' independence, and it said Nigerian officials had been compromised by government interference and legal action brought by the National Association of Nigerian Footballers.
FIFA said it lifted the suspension until Oct. 26 — the day after a court hearing where the players' organization is expected to fulfill a promise to drop a lawsuit which sought to annul recent federation elections.
"The decision was taken after observing that the situation had taken a positive turn in recent days," FIFA said in a statement. "However, should the NFF still be embroiled in court actions or any other issue preventing it from working freely on that date, the suspension will be automatically confirmed until all problems have been definitely solved."
FIFA eased its stance after Amadu was reinstated on Tuesday as the federation's acting general secretary. He previously had been forced to step down on the instructions of the government-run National Sports Commission.
FIFA also objected to the Nigerian sports minister starting the domestic league program without relegation from the previous season.
Nigeria has clashed with football's governing body since July when the country's president, Goodluck Jonathan, said he would pull all national teams out of competition because of the poor showing at the World Cup.
FIFA withdrew a threatened ban only when Jonathan backed down hours before a deadline, but said it would continue monitoring Nigerian football.
After the World Cup, four former high-ranking federation officials were charged with corruption after allegations they embezzled money from the team's tournament funds in South Africa.
Associated Press Writer Jon Gambrell contributed from Lagos, Nigeria