By Elisha Bala-Gbogbo

July 5 (Bloomberg) -- Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan rescinded his decision to ban the country’s soccer teams from competition for two years after FIFA said government meddling may result in its national federation being suspended.

Jonathan took the decision last week after the Nigerian men’s team, known as the Super Eagles, was knocked out of the World Cup in the first round.

“The ban has just been lifted by the president,” Ademola Olajire, spokesman for the Nigeria Football Federation, said in an interview today. “The board of the NEF meets tomorrow by which time there will be further comments.”

Soccer’s governing body, which had set a deadline of 6 p.m. Nigerian time today for the ban to be lifted, said it had received a letter from the Nigerian government confirming that it “revokes its decision to withdraw Nigeria’s participation.”

“The letter was received by FIFA before the deadline set last Friday July 2, and follows mediation talks between FIFA executive committee member Dr. Amos Adamu and the Nigerian government,” FIFA said in an e-mailed statement. “Therefore, the NFF remains vested with all its statutory rights.”

--Editors: Antony Sguazzin, Dan Baynes.

To contact the reporter on this story: Elisha Bala-Gbogbo in Accra at ebalagbogbo@bloomberg.net

Source: Businessweek