Nigeria's failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the second time in a row has led to louder calls for a change in leadership at the Nigeria Football Federation. Football stakeholders are urging the current board to take responsibility and step down as pressure mounts ahead of the federation's next elections.
Abiodun Obafemi, a former Nigeria international and 1996 Olympic gold medallist, shared his thoughts on this issue. He told PUNCH Sports Extra that he supports any actions that could help restore the right direction to Nigerian football, saying the country cannot keep doing the same things and expect different results.
“Honestly, I agree with any action that will bring good to the football house, even if it is an overhaul. Honestly, we just need a change. We cannot continue to do the same thing and expect different results,” Obafemi said.
He pointed out that Nigeria should have made it to the last World Cup, given the quality of players available. He believes that even if only two teams qualify from Africa, Nigeria deserves to be one of them. “We are number one football nation in Africa, and everyone knows the reason why we are struggling, and whatever measure that will bring us back, we should take it. We are losing the respect that we had, that fear factor most of these nations have when facing us is gone. Whatever will bring back those glory days, I am for it 100 percent.”
Another voice in the discussion is Segun Odegbami, a former Green Eagles captain and 1980 Africa Cup of Nations winner. He said the Super Eagles missing the tournament shows deeper issues within Nigeria's football management, not a lack of talent.
“This is a very, very sad situation for us,” Odegbami said. “There is no reason on earth that Nigeria should not have been one of 10 African countries that went to that World Cup. As Nigerians, we should be one of the top one or two, not outside the top 10. Nobody can justify that. To miss back-to-back World Cups is a sad commentary on the state of our football.”
Odegbami stressed that those in charge must take responsibility for Nigeria's decline. “We cannot put the blame at the footsteps of anybody else but the administration that is in charge,” he said. “As a country, we need to look at that place. That is where the whole issue is. We are doing things that are not right, and we keep repeating them while expecting different results. It cannot happen.”
He added that Nigeria's lack of excitement during the ongoing World Cup also shows the disappointment from the country's absence. “Look at what is going on in the country. The World Cup is going on, there is no energy. We cannot even watch properly, and we are not enjoying it. The Nigerian government must not allow what brought us to this point to continue. They have to do something,” he said.
Calls for accountability are growing after Italy made big changes to its football structure after failing to qualify for three World Cups in a row. Senior officials stepped down to allow new leadership to rebuild the team.
Many Nigerians have taken to social media to demand accountability from NFF leaders. One fan, Alex Wenge, expressed his frustration on X, saying, “Extremely disappointed in Nigeria’s back-to-back failure to qualify for the World Cup. I still cannot point to the exact issues, but our football will most likely decline further if care is not taken. Our football federation is extremely corrupt.”
Another supporter, Insonet Uche, warned that just expanding the tournament would not fix Nigeria's problems, saying, “I will not be surprised if the Super Eagles fail to qualify for the World Cup even if it expands to 64 teams until they start doing the right things.” He added, “The only people worried about increasing the number of participating nations are those who always qualify. The quality of football has improved globally, and teams once regarded as easy opponents are now causing major upsets.”
On the other hand, Bukola Olopade, the Director-General of the National Sports Commission, said any change at the NFF should happen democratically, not through public pressure. He also rejected the idea that the current leadership is to blame for Nigeria's World Cup failures.
“I am not going to undemocratically push for a change. Any change must be done democratically,” Olopade said. He pointed out that the responsibility for the first missed qualification belonged to the previous administration led by Amaju Pinnick. “Apart from not qualifying for the World Cup, how did President Gusau and his board fail Nigeria? We need to be fair to one another. I know I will get a lot of backlash from this. People keep saying they failed to qualify for two World Cups. No, that was Amaju Pinnick, and that consumed him,” he added, while noting Nigeria's performances at the Women’s World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations under the current board as proof of progress.
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