Former NFF President Slams Federation for Mistake That Cost Super Eagles World Cup Ticket
- A former president of the Nigeria Football Federation has named who to blame for the Super Eagles' woes
- The former official blamed the current board for the schedule of the matches against Rwanda and South Africa
- Nigeria’s 2026 FIFA World Cup hopes slipped out of their hands after the 1-1 draw against Bafana Bafana
A former President of the Nigeria Football Federation has blamed the current board for the Super Eagles' woes in the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
Nigeria's World Cup hopes tilt towards impossible rather than possible heading into the final two matchdays next month after the 1-1 draw against South Africa.
Source: Twitter
Super Eagles sit third in Group C with 11 points, three behind Benin Republic, which has 14 points and group leaders South Africa, who have 17 points.
The Eagles will face Lesotho in South Africa on matchday nine, before hosting West African neighbours Benin Republic, coached by former manager Gernot Rohr, on the final matchday.
Nigeria need to beat both countries and rely on other results to favour them to stand a chance to clinch the automatic ticket in Group C.
The automatic ticket is Nigeria's best means of qualifying, as they are not one of the top four teams on the table of the second-placed teams who will participate in the playoffs.
Former President blames NFF for Super
A former President of the Nigeria Football Federation, whose identity was hidden during an interview with BSN Sports, blamed the current board for the September match schedule.
As noted by the NFF, Super Eagles beat Rwanda 1-0 at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo on Saturday, before flying to South Africa on Sunday.
The team had one training session at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein before the match on Tuesday.
The unnamed official claimed that the lack of rest days in between for the players was costly and could have been a factor in the performance against Bafana Bafana.
“Nigeria played Rwanda at home on Saturday, then travelled that same night and arrived in South Africa on Sunday, trained only once on Monday and played on Tuesday,” he said.
“They had the option of hosting Rwanda on Thursday or Friday to allow more recovery time. That planning failure cost us dearly.”
Source: Getty Images
FIFA allowed for the first matches of the window to be played from Wednesday to Saturday at the discretion of the host federation, and the NFF chose Saturday.
The Eagles vs Amavubi match was the only African game played on Saturday, with Gabon playing their first match against Seychelles on Wednesday before playing their second match against Ivory Coast six days later.
The official’s thoughts echo the claims of a Nigerian journalist who questioned the schedule before the match, describing it as a setup for the players.
Ex-NFF President sides with FIFA
Legit.ng reported that a former NFF President sided with FIFA over their refusal to sanction South Africa for fielding an ineligible player against Lesotho.
He claimed that the world football governing body is acting within the rules, as they did not notify South Africa earlier, and there were no complaints.
Proofreading by Omoleye Omoruyi, copy editor at Legit.ng.
Source: Legit.ng
