According to social studies, excessive leaders are those who are more focused on gaining power than doing action and are also those who place a higher priority on themselves than on their followers or the organization they are in charge of.
Given the characterization given above and the events occurring within the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), it is easy to characterize individuals posing as our football administrators as overbearing leaders.
This is a result of their greater interest in the good yields that are affixed to the body than in the game’s national growth.
The outcome and the advancement of the nation are less important to them than the international travel and the foreign currency they will receive from any CAF, FIFA, or Olympic competitions hosted abroad.
And because Nigeria is a letdown today and another tomorrow, it is now lagging behind in the world’s most popular game rather than making progress.
To most of us, rather than just football skill, bad administration and policy difficulties have had a significant impact on Nigeria’s performance in the CAF World Cup 2026 qualifying rounds.
In the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), triviality has frequently undermined long-term planning, leading to rushed and erratic technical appointments and delayed financial or logistical decisions.
Uncertain financial practices and the delayed transfer of funding for camps, travel, bonuses, and medical care exacerbate these governance flaws.
Training schedules are frequently cut short, player morale declines, and preparation quality is lowered before important games.
The ongoing tension between club and national interests is another significant element. Players’ availability has been hampered by the NPFL calendar’s misalignment with FIFA international windows and clubs’ unwillingness to release players during crucial times.
Coaches frequently have to put teams together late, which leaves little time for tactical unity.
The Super Eagles have also been unable to develop a dependable playing style or integrate emerging talent through a disciplined pathway due to frequent upheaval in technical leadership.
On the field, selection procedures are frequently reactive rather than strategic, which leads to instability and misunderstanding.
In events like CHAN, where home-based players do poorly because of a lack of investment in coaching, facilities, and competitive standards, the shortcomings of Nigeria’s local football development infrastructure are further highlighted.
Another challenge is the lack of investment in injury prevention, rehabilitation, and fitness, which has prevented important players like Victor Osimhen from playing in crucial qualifiers.
Stronger governance and transparency within the NFF, together with multi-year strategic planning and performance-based contracts that shield technical choices from political influence, are necessary to overcome these issues.
The current situation in the NFF, where State FA chairmen have overpopulated the Federation’s Elective Congress and elevated themselves to the position of Alpha and Omega, is seen by most as the foremost issue that has to be addressed.
In order to ensure that the NFF operates efficiently and productively, that one act that hinders the progress, development, and growth of our soccer team must be reversed without delay.
The NFF is in dire need of individuals with outstanding skills, abilities, and knowledge in overseeing the Federation’s operations, including excellent communication, organization, time management, problem-solving, and technological proficiency.
Administrative know-how is also crucial; a dedicated compliance staff should verify all eligibility and legal issues to avoid costly fines.
Stabilizing technical leadership by appointing a technical director to manage youth-to-senior routes and guarantee continuity is equally crucial in the NFF.
To increase standards in the NPFL and bolster Nigeria’s depth, we must first purify our leagues by eliminating the “win at all costs” policy while playing at home and investing more in infrastructure, coaching education, and home-based player development.
Nigeria can only be in a far better position to compete well in CAF qualifiers and guarantee their spot at the future FIFA World Cup if they can professionalize these governance and policy underpinnings.
Nigeria’s present position or situation in the world cup qualification, where no one is sure if we will make it to the world’s most prestigious football championship, and the recently finished CHAN served as an excellent example.
After their dismal start and equally disappointing results, it is no longer news that the Nigerian Super Eagles will likely not be present in the North American continents for the 2026 World Cup Finals.
In the beginning, many observers thought that the Super Eagles could easily lead Group C by defeating South Africa, Benin, Rwanda, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe.
However, the team’s inability to take the lead in Group C, which would have guaranteed them a ticket or a place as the second-best runner-up of all nine zones, prevented them from CAF and another play-offs with a <strong>CONCACAF</strong> team.
This is absurd and tragic, in my opinion, since Nigeria, which claims to be the continent’s behemoth, is suddenly something else since it is unable to field eleven players for ninety minutes of combat against any African side and triumph.
The Eagles were unable to establish dominance because of the deficiencies that were shown in the early group stage matches in the qualifiers.
Nigeria was put at a disadvantage by their early missed points, which came from a string of draws against teams deemed less strong, such as Rwanda and Zimbabwe.
The squad failed to win important games that would have pushed them ahead of their group competitors, instead they fell into a pattern of inconsistency.
Africa has nine direct spots in the 2026 FIFA World Cup according to the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) qualifying standards. Each of the nine groups of six teams in the format plays both at home and away.
Each group’s winner is automatically eligible. Additionally, the top four finishers from each group proceed to a special CAF play-off, and the victor advances to the inter-confederation play-off for a potential extra World Cup ticket.
Nigeria has 11 points after eight games, which includes two victories, multiple draws, and one loss, placing them in third position.
Sadly, Nigeria is behind in both the direct qualifying race and the runners-up standings because South Africa leads the group with about 17 points, although Benin and Rwanda are also fierce rivals.
The rivalry for the playoff slots is fierce because teams like Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Gabon, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo presently hold the top provisional runner-up spots around the continent.
Nigeria now has just two choices for the qualifying process, the first of which is direct qualification through Group C victory.
But with just two games remaining, Nigeria would need to defeat Benin and Lesotho handily in addition to counting on South Africa to lose all their final games, which seems doubtful and extremely unlikely.
The second option is to be among the top four runners-up, and Nigeria needs to defeat opponents and hold off Benin and Rwanda in order to earn second place in the group.
In order to compare well with the top runners-up from other groups, the Super Eagles must then hope to accumulate enough points and goal differential—a feat that again hinges on other teams making a mistake.
Nigeria would still have to win the CAF play-off and then the inter-confederation play-off with a <strong>CONCACAF</strong> team and if they win, then a world cup presence will be possible. Many see the playoff path as feasible but extremely difficult.
Similarly, many see Nigeria’s predicament as man-made due to the poor ways of handling our leagues by the football governing body, the NFF and that of the NSC.
To me, the dream of going to the world cup is shattered but Nigeria may still aim for the most points in their remaining games to maintain its integrity in African football.
I don’t want to be a pretender, Nigeria’s chances of making it to the 2026 World Cup is very slim or not at all.
The realistic focus now is on wishing that Gabon and Madagascar, two of the most formidable opponents, lose every game to finish as the best runners-up, which is implausible, in addition to finishing second in Group C.
I fully blame the present leadership of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) for our poor performance with the Super Eagles A and B teams because of their indecisive leadership and insensitive coaching appointments that shattered continuity and squad trust.
They strike me as overbearing leaders who prioritize power above action. They just want the benefits of frequent international travel and the one-time payment they received as a travel allowance.
The Super Eagles’ 1-1 draw with South Africa, the top of their group, in Bloemfontein last week means they will have a difficult time qualifying for the championship.
With two games remaining, they are in third place in their group, six points behind the leaders, meaning their chances of qualifying for the World Cup are all but gone.
And that leads us to the remarks made by John Obi Mikel, the former captain of the Nigerian senior national team, who stated that if the team fails to qualify for the tournament for the second year in a row, the whole board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) should step down.
Mikel continued by urging the NFF’s board to give up and hide their faces in embarrassment at yet another failed attempt to qualify for the World Cup.
In a similar spirit, Samuel Eto, the chairman of the Cameroonian Football Federation, remarked that if Nigeria finally failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, it would be time for reform and a revision of their broken system.
According to Samuel Eto, the players are doing well outside of their various clubs, thus it’s never their fault. Nigeria is the birthplace of the current African BEST player. “Nigerian football has, to be honest, had a bad system for a long time,” Eto said.
It is clear that our football management’s inadequacies are widely known and exposed
To be honest, I agree with Obi and Eto that Nigeria is not doing well in the current World Cup qualifying round, and we are not getting any better at round leather, let alone growing under Gusau and his team.
Our football, like everything else, should be managed and controlled by former international players, sports technocrats, and highly skilled professionals from universities and other tertiary institutions who can provide the desired results.
Right now, the Super Eagles can only restore their dignity and confidence and launch a real campaign to qualify for the next or future tournaments if they make significant changes, improve player dedication and management, and make greater use of Nigeria’s enormous football potential.
This is because Gabon of Group F, who are presently leading the runners-up rankings with 19 points from eight games, has surpassed Madagascar of Group I, who have 16 points from the same amount of games.
With 15 points from eight games, Burkina Faso is in second place in Group A, while DR Congo, in Group B, has 16 points from the same amount of games.
Benin came in second with 14 points, followed by Namibia, Uganda, and Cameroun, each with 15 points.
After qualifying, the top-seeded runner-up will play the top-seeded <strong>CONCACAF</strong> runner-up in a neutral venue; the winner will go to the 2026 World Cup.
It is unfortunate and disheartening that the Nigerian Super Eagles, who only managed 11 points from eight games, were not included in the runners-up ranking.
Egypt, Senegal, South Africa, Cape Verde, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Tunisia, and Ghana are currently leading their respective groups and have guaranteed a spot at the next World Cup.
I’m hoping that this will teach us to be more serious in our next games.
