Odegbami Calls for Pause on NFF Elections

Former Super Eagles captain Segun Odegbami has asked for a temporary stop to the Nigeria Football Federation elections. He believes the way football is run in Nigeria has not matched the great talent we have in the game, Sunday PUNCH reports.

Odegbami made this request before the NFF’s 2026 Executive Committee elections. These elections are set for September 27 in Lafia, Nasarawa State. The Elective Congress was moved back by a day, from September 26, to allow for the Super Eagles’ 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Madagascar.

The former Green Eagles captain pointed out that issues in football management have been around for many years. He said these problems have become part of the system.

“The reality is that football administration in the past two decades, in particular, has not matched or complemented the level of talent and possible achievements,” Odegbami stated.

He believes Nigerian football has suffered because of bad decisions made since the early 1990s. He feels these decisions have turned into a system that is hard to change since those who made or benefitted from these choices are still part of football management.

“The growth of our football industry has been stunted by faulty decisions taken more in ignorance than by any malicious intentions since the early part of the 1990s,” he said.

“These have grown, sustained and become the norm in our football, a monster that now needs the creators of it to rid it of its venom. They won’t do it because they are also the beneficiaries of the faulty architecture.”

Odegbami also took aim at how NFF elections are usually held. He described the process as a constant source of problems.

“Elections into the board of the NFF have become a four-yearly ritual of crisis,” he said.

The former international added that the issues in management stop Nigerian football from being the economic and youth-development engine it could be. This denies young people opportunities and holds back the country’s economic growth.

“All of these to the detriment of the country that loves its football with passion but can only look on helplessly as football continues to fail to achieve its full potential, fails to boost the country’s economy, and fails to empower the country’s gifted youths with the best opportunities that are available all over the world,” he explained.

Odegbami emphasized that Nigerian football needs time to rethink its management and fix its long-standing issues. He repeated his call for a temporary pause on the elections.

“I hope all Nigerians, including the members of the Nigerian Football Association, will understand why these elections should be temporarily halted for Nigerian football to find its feet again,” he said.