Former Super Eagles captain, Sunday Oliseh has declared that members of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) should step aside if the country fails to qualify for back-to-back FIFA World Cups.
Oliseh stressed that missing out on the 2026 World Cup would be a huge setback for Nigerian football.
“If Nigeria does not qualify for the next World Cup, and the people running football in Nigeria are still in their positions, then we don’t even deserve to qualify for the next one,” Oliseh said.
“If, as an administration, you fail to qualify for two consecutive World Cups—which are worth hundreds of millions to a country’s football industry—there is nowhere in the world where such leadership would remain in place.”
The former Super Eagles coach further warned that each missed World Cup damages the country’s football progress.
“Every four years that you don’t qualify for the World Cup, your football goes back eight years. That is how it works.
“Although I still believe we can qualify, failing to do so will kill our football. Something drastic must be done.”
“You cannot keep driving the same way towards Badagry and expect to find yourself in Sokoto. It can’t happen. You are going in the opposite direction,” he added.
Nigeria missed the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar after falling to Ghana in the playoffs, and pressure continues to mount on the current administration as the Super Eagles fight for a ticket to the 2026 edition.
