Facebook changes the fate of Nigerian football team

After a slew of disappointing performances at the World Cup, Nigeria's president – Goodluck Jonathan – took matters into his own hands and suspended the team from international games for the next two years.

Despite government interference being forbidden in the world of football, it was the unlikely force that is Facebook that prompted the president to reconsider his decision.

After setting up a profile on the social networking site last week, Goodluck Jonathan was overwhelmed by the response from his fellow Facebook users who made their voices heard in their hundreds.

Speaking on the site, Mr Jonathan wrote:

“I have listened to your voices and took them into account in the government's decision to rescind the suspension of Nigeria from international football.

“I had a meeting with the NNF [Nigerian Football Federation] and conveyed my disappointment and those of Nigerians on this page and received assurances that there will be positive changes.

“We must now work together to make sure that the NFF and our players do us proud in future events,” he said.

With FIFA threatening to suspend the NFF for succumbing to government intervention, it would appear Goodluck Jonathan's 76,000 Facebook fans had little difficulty getting the president to backtrack on the suspension.

This isn't the first time Facebook has been used to sway decision making and catapult public opinion into a much wider domain.

The BBC's decision to upturn the closure of BBC 6Music has been attributed – in part – to a highly successful Facebook campaign in which 200,000 members voiced their opinions against the proposed closure.