Former Nigeria international Segun Odegbami has described the current state of Nigerian football as the “worst time” in the country’s history.
Odegbami, who won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with Nigeria in 1980, said the decline extends beyond the failure of the Super Eagles and Super Falcons to qualify for their respective FIFA World Cups.
Over the past 12 months, both senior national teams failed to qualify for their respective World Cups, while Nigeria has also recorded disappointing results at age-group level and in African club competitions.
Speaking to BBC Sport Africa, the 74-year-old said the situation represented a “tectonic shift” for one of Africa’s traditional football powers.
“It has never been this bad in our entire history that we didn’t qualify for the World Cup,” Odegbami said.
“Our girls (the Super Falcons), who were African champions, failed to win a competition (the 2025 Women’s Afcon) that was just there for their taking. All our junior teams are not doing well.
“Our local league is not bringing in money. Something is definitely wrong.”
The crisis has already led to changes within the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), with its president, Ibrahim Gusau, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi and several members of the executive committee resigning last month following mounting criticism.
Odegbami said Nigerian football had not been represented by its “first XI administrators” and called for a restructuring of the game to create conditions for long-term development.
“The outcry by Nigerians was total. Everybody wanted them out, to the extent that the President of the country himself (Bola Tinubu) made the pronouncement that he wanted reforms,” he said.
“Everything came together like a jigsaw puzzle and is working now for us to produce a blueprint that will cover every aspect of our football development.”
A joint delegation from FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has also been involved in discussions with the National Sports Commission (NSC) over the future structure of Nigerian football.
The parties are working towards a roadmap for comprehensive reforms, while NFF elections scheduled for September 27 have been suspended.
President Tinubu has stated his desire for reforms to address what he described as “repeated failures”.
Emmanuel Ikpeme has been appointed NFF interim general secretary, while Ademola Olajire is the interim deputy general secretary.
Nigerian sports journalist Fisayo Dairo said any reform should extend beyond a change in leadership.
“The reform should be the setting up of a proper framework and structure that our football can thrive on,” Dairo told BBC Sport Africa.
“[We need to] develop national teams, harness talent from the grassroots and have governance that incorporates all forms of stakeholders.
“The corporate world has to be fully represented so that the administration is able to generate funds.”
Odegbami said the current situation was a sharp contrast to the period when he helped Nigeria win its first continental title in 1980.
The former forward, nicknamed “Mathematical” for his precision and skill, was part of the Super Eagles team that defeated Algeria 3-0 in the Afcon final in Lagos.
“We had unprecedented support and fortunately the stars aligned with us,” he said.
“It was an indescribable atmosphere during that period.
“That experience you can’t even describe and compare. [It remains] indelible in our minds.”
Nigeria subsequently won the Afcon in 1994 and 2013 and finished runners-up at the 2023 edition. The Super Eagles also finished third in 2019 and at this year’s finals in Morocco.
Odegbami, however, said sport had “not been a priority” for successive governments and blamed football administrators for the decline of the game since the mid-1990s.
“The pilots are not guiding us well, they haven’t guided us well,” he said.
“And that has affected every aspect of our football development: the grassroots, the discovery of players, the development of the players, the establishment of the institutions that will take care of them, the academies, the clubs that they will go into both locally and internationally.
“What is the coaching methodology? What is the philosophy of our football in the country?
“What is our culture, what is our style?”
Concerns over deteriorating infrastructure and inadequate investment have also featured prominently in discussions about Nigerian football.
Odegbami said several stadiums that previously hosted major football competitions had fallen into disrepair.
He cited the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos, which hosted matches during the 1980 and 2000 Afcons, the Liberty Stadium, now Obafemi Awolowo Stadium, in Ibadan, Kaduna’s Ahmadu Bello Stadium and the UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar.
“I weep when I think of the amount of damage they have done to Nigerian football – the infrastructure that we had in the country, some of the historic monuments that were facilities for football in this country,” he said.
“Whether it was wilful, whether it was ignorance, they did irreparable damage to what was Nigeria’s heritage.
“Uyo is the best we have in Nigeria, but it is not half as good as what we had from the 1960s to the 90s.”
The Super Eagles will begin their 2027 Afcon qualifying campaign against Madagascar at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on Friday at 16:00 GMT before travelling to Guinea-Bissau on September 29.
Victor Osimhen has been ruled out of Eric Chelle’s squad through injury.
(The Whistler)
