Fight Brews Over NFF Elections as Football Faces Challenges

Nigerian football leaders are split over calls to stop the Nigeria Football Federation elections. This comes as former players highlight the recent failures in African football as proof that the system needs serious changes, according to The PUNCH.

Abiodun Obafemi, a former star of the Dream Team and part of Nigeria’s gold medal-winning team at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, spoke about the difference between that victorious spirit and the current state of Nigerian football. He noted that the Super Falcons and Flying Eagles both missed out on World Cup qualification.

“We were celebrating the anniversary of our Olympic triumph just a few days ago, and now we find ourselves facing a World Cup miss for the first time, with the Falcons and the young Flying Eagles both missing out,” Obafemi said.

“In our days, we came into camp with hunger, and our relationship with the administration and our coaches was open and sincere. Today, it appears to be a different story entirely.”

His comments came after the Super Falcons lost to Cameroon in the quarter-finals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. That defeat meant Nigeria missed automatic qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The Flying Eagles also lost, going down 4-1 to Burkina Faso in the final of the WAFU Zone B Under-20 Championship. This result knocked Nigeria out of the run for next year's Africa Under-20 Cup of Nations and the 2027 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Azerbaijan.

These setbacks have led to renewed calls from former Super Eagles captain Segun Odegbami for a temporary suspension of the NFF’s 2026 Executive Committee elections. These elections are set for September 27 in Lafia, Nasarawa State.

Odegbami believes that Nigerian football management has not kept pace with the country's talent. He described the NFF elections as “a four-yearly ritual of crisis” and has asked President Bola Tinubu and other concerned Nigerians to stop the process.

Ebi Egbe, the Chief Executive Officer of Monimichelle Sports Facility, agrees with Odegbami. He argues that the current electoral setup, where 37 out of 44 Congress delegates are state Football Association chairmen, gives those in power an unfair advantage over real reformers.

“It will be very difficult for genuine reformers to even consider buying nomination forms for the current NFF elections when the electoral structure appears to give the 37 State Football Association members such enormous influence over the outcome,” Egbe said.

“For me, the real issue is not about who buys a form or who eventually wins. It is about whether the process gives every credible candidate a genuine and equal opportunity to compete.”

Not everyone agrees with delaying the elections. Ahmed Shuaibu Gara-Gombe, founder and chairman of the Athletics and Other Sports Development Commission, disagrees with Odegbami. He believes Odegbami's position comes from personal interest, not the overall growth of Nigerian football. “I disagree with many things he said in that video,” Gara-Gombe said.

“If you want to talk about issues in Nigerian sports or anything affecting our country, forget fronting or saturating people with your profile. We know who you are.”

Gara-Gombe also challenged Odegbami to explain controversies related to the Shell Cup and the Nigeria Academicals Sports Committee, which he led. He claimed that Odegbami has “no moral right to talk about corruption or accountability.”

He further denied that Odegbami’s failed bid for an NFF position was due to a flawed process, insisting that Odegbami did not get the needed support from Football Associations in his South-West zone.

While he rejected calls to cancel the election, Gara-Gombe agreed that electoral reform is necessary. He believes these changes should come from the National Assembly and not through court action.

“We need electoral reforms, not only in Nigerian football. Electoral reform is required in everything that we do,” he said. “The issue of the composition of Nigerian Football Association Congress has to do with the National Assembly. Let the National Assembly go there and take up that challenge.”

He also urged the National Sports Commission, led by Chairman Shehu Dikko and Director-General Bukola Olopade, to make their position clear on the issue. “The National Sports Commission must come out and state their position,” he said. “Their silence shows that they are behind it, and we are going to take them on it.”

With Nigeria now facing a tough reality of missing out on both senior and youth World Cups, the debate over the NFF elections is likely to heat up as the September Congress in Lafia approaches.