The Problem With Nigerian Football

REUBEN ABATI It is sad to see the excitement of Nigerians over football leagues in Europe (The English Premier League, La Liga in Spain, Italy’s Serie A, Germany’s Bundesliga, the Turkish Super League) at a time the House of Football in this country appears to be collapsing, immersed in chaos, more like a shadow of itself. Football used to be regarded as a major unifying factor in Nigeria, a source of deep-seated enthusiasm for the people, regardless of ethnicity, geography or religion, and with Nigeria’s past records in the African Cup of Nations and the Olympics, and spectacular performances in such events as the victory of the Green Eagles in the 1973 2nd All Africa games, the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations, USA ‘94 World Cup debut, Golden Eaglets’ triumph in the U17 Championship in China, the1989 “the Damman Miracle” by the Flying Eagles, the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games Triumph, and similar feats at the regional and continental level, our agony is writ large. Nigerian ladies have been playing football since the 1930s, but competitive female football began to gain ground in 1979 with clubs like the Jegede Babes and the Ufuoma Babes. By 1990, female football had become established with the founding of the Super Falcons which took part in the first FIFA’s Women’s World Cup in 1991. The Super Falcons hold the record of having won the Women African Cup of Nations, 10 times out of 15! In both male and female football, Nigeria has recorded quite a distinguished history and produced many legends who became so prominent in world football, that indeed at a time it was not uncommon for any Nigerian abroad to be identified as a citizen of the country of a particular footballer. Nigeria is the country of Jay Jay Okocha, Daniel Amokachi, Kanu Nwankwo, Asisat Oshoala, Perpetua Nwokocha, Sunday Oliseh…Before Nollywood gained international acclaim, football placed Nigeria on the map. This is not without a touch of irony. Football was not initially a commercial success, but with the professionalization of football in Europe and the big money that it attracted, which was earned by the early set of Nigerians who found their ways into European clubs, setting an example, Nigeria became one large footballing field. Many families began to encourage their children who showed footballing talents. There was an explosion in the art of footballing at the secondary school level through such tournaments as the Principal’s Cup, and across the country, many schools paid more attention to football. As early as the 70s, the Principal’s Cup was so popular in Lagos, in particular, that it became a defining field for schools like St. Finbarr’s College, Akoka, St. Gregory’s College, Obalende, Igbobi College, Yaba, and CMS Grammar School, Bariga. Football legends like Stephen Keshi, Henry Nwosu, Samson Siasia, Nduka Ugbade, Adokiye Amiesimaka were products of this vibrant school-level football. The commercial success that came after was, however, built on a strong foundation that actually dated back to the 1940s Nigeria, the days of teams like PWD, Apapa Bombers, the Lagos Marines, Lagos Railways Club, the Zik Bombers and legends like Teslim Thunder Balinga Balogun, Peter Anieke, Etim Henshaw and Dan Anyiam. The Nigeria Football Association (NFA) was formed in 1933, and inaugurated in 1945. In those early days, Nigeria’s footballers did not even wear boots. We also witnessed in the 70s and 80s, up till the 90s, the emergence of private and corporate investment in football which served the purpose of branding and created job opportunities for many. Those were the days of teams like Stationery Stores of Lagos, Shooting Stars of Ibadan, Iwuanyanwu Nationale of Owerri, BCC Lions of Gboko, Julius Berger FC, Enugu Rangers, Bendel Insurance, Abiola Babes of Abeokuta, Leventis United, ACB FC, and the Benin City-based New Nigerian Bank FC. The success of these clubs was complemented by the building of stadiums across the country, notably the Ogbe Stadium (now Ogbemudia Stadium, as far back as the 60s but officially opened in 1985), National Stadium Surulere (1971/72), Calabar Stadium (now U.J. Esuene Stadium, 1976/77), and the provision of similar infrastructure over the years. In those golden years of Nigerian football, Nigeria also boasted of football commentators who using the radio as platform and theatre turned football commentary into entertainment. Radio was far more popular in those days for sports broadcasting and the commentators were in a special category of their own. There was Ernest Okonkwo, the iconic football commentator, with his rich vocabulary and beautiful turns of phrase. He was the best. Even when fans went to the stadiums to watch live matches, they went along with their transistor radios. The match on the field was often made far more exciting by Ernest Okonkwo of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN). He was the one who named Chief Segun Odegbami, “Mathematical” for his precision displays on the touchline, Christian Chukwu was “Chairman”, Aloysius Atuegbu “Blockbuster”, Yisa Sofoluwe was “Dean of Defence”, Emmanuel Okala was named “Iron Gate, Tallest”, Mudashiru Lawal, “Midfield Maestro” , Sylvanus Okpala was named “Quicksilver” Long before he went into the legal profession, Okonkwo had named Adokiye Amiesimaka, “Chief Justice”. The same Amiesimaka would in later life become the Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice in Rivers state. It was in fact Okonkwo, in full flourish, who described a shot as an “intercontinental ballistic missile!” There was also Ishola Folorunsho with his depth. Other talented sports broadcasters of those years included Kevin Ejiofor, Yinka Craig, Dele Adetiba, Sebastian Ofurum and Tolu Fatoyinbo. Those guys didn’t just run commentary, they provided prime time entertainment. They spoke impeccable English. There have been other sports journalists after them, male and female, but they deserve special credit for the passion and the distinction that they brought to the task. Ernest Okonkwo was so colourful, he described the weather, the number of persons in attendance, the history of the venue and he knew the story of each player on the field of play. In 1979, in a match between Enugu Rangers and Raccah Rovers of Kano, he gave such a description of Shefiu Baba Otu Mohammed, a Muslim beating three Christians that was commentary as pure poetry. Okonkwo and his likes helped to make football popular, and showed journalism in a good light. Nigeria had good coaches too who captured the public imagination: Otto Gloria, the Brazilian, Clemens Westerhof, the Dutch, Jo Bonfrere, Westerhof’s compatriot, Adeboye Onigbinde, an indigenous coach. Football became a religion in Nigeria. But it is today on a decline. One of the major sad things about Nigeria is that the country has a way of turning every good thing upside down. This is a country where the best and the brightest from other parts of the world once came to earn a living. Nobody comes this way any longer, except they are portfolio investors seeking to take advantage of a mismanaged economy. Nigeria used to have world class, referral hospitals with some of the best doctors and consultants in the world. Our hospitals have become consulting clinics and mortuaries. Nigeria’s national currency used to be stronger than the pounds sterling and the dollar. It was possible to spend the weekend in London and resume work in Lagos on Monday morning. Flight tickets have now become so expensive you can’t indulge in that conspicuous manner, except you are a thief in the corridors of power, private or public. This destruction of all things has been witnessed in leadership, politics, religion, education, value system and even more painfully in football. Nigerian football and sports got trapped in a state of arrested development a long time ago, but things have become worse. There are still a few privately-owned clubs under the auspices of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), showing in the local football league but they are not like the clubs of old. Nigerians are not even excited about them or their players. When last did the Nigerian league produce a stand-out player? It hurts to see that many young Nigerians these days cannot even successfully name up to four local clubs in Nigeria. They are all devoted fans of clubs in Europe: Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Galatasaray in Turkey (because of Victor Osimhen). When Chelsea won the English Premier League in the 2016/2017 season, Nigerian fans of the club in Lagos, threw parties and slaughtered cows. When Arsenal won the same League, 2025/26 season under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal fans chose family attires and held thanksgiving services in Nigerian churches. There are die-hard fans of Liverpool, Manchester United and Barcelona across Nigeria. These are people who have never been to Europe. But Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, and Vinicius Jr. are their idols. They swear by the names of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Messi announced his retirement from international football yesterday, after earning 207 caps, and his Nigerian fans are already behaving as if they are bereaved!..Messi may not even be able to locate Nigeria on the world map. But there are Nigerians who can recite his life history and footballing accomplishments from memory, the same way they can recite the names of the best forwards, midfielders, attackers and goalkeepers in the world. Ask them about the most popular sport in Nigeria – which football is. They are likely to tell you the stories of how football is dying in Nigeria. The National Stadium in Lagos is now a grand pepper soup joint and a haven for area boys. The last time the Super Eagles qualified for the World Cup was in 2018, in Russia. They missed the World Cup in 2022, Qatar, and 2026 in US, Mexico, and Canada. With the state of things, there is no hope that they will be at the World Cup in 2030 either. The Super Falcons are the most successful female football team in Africa but they were literally disgraced at the last WAFCON held in Morocco. They failed to qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil. The Nigeria Football Federation (known as NFA until 2008) is so disorganized that the major stories about it are tales of mismanagement, non-payment of players’ bonuses, arrears and political interference in the selection of players. The NFF has failed to grow Nigerian football, instead it has grown a culture of corruption as a way of life. It is in fact considered one of the most corrupt government agencies in Nigeria. In 2024, the Tinubu administration had to bail out the NFF with an intervention fund of N17 billion, there was also an additional $4 billion that came from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to be used to settle a backlog of unpaid salaries and bonuses. But this has led to serious trouble in the House of Football because nothing was paid, the money has not been accounted for. The Departments of State Services and the Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA) set up investigations to find out in particular, how N17 billion could just disappear without any accountability. The latest that we heard last week, was that the President of the NFF, Ibrahim Gusau, along with other members of the Federation’s 13-person Board simply resigned and walked away. They were only asked to provide evidence and records of how they spent N17 billion! Before this happened, Chief Segun Odegbami, former Green Eagles captain had, in fact, written an appeal to the Nigerian Federal Government asking the President to stop the scheduled September 27 NFF election in Lafia in Nasarawa state. The Gusau-led executive was due to complete its tenure and seek re-election. Odegbami also went to court to question the legitimacy of the NFF. He has also asked for a complete overhaul. The NFF itself set up a Fact-Finding Committee led by Fanny Amun, who eventually resigned from the committee after submitting a damning report which included the finding that the NFF had turned the selection of players for the national team into a cash and carry, pay and play affair. President Tinubu has directed the National Sports Commission (NSC) and other football stakeholders to carry out a comprehensive football reform. The planned NFF September election has been suspended by the NSC. An interim administrative team has been appointed, led by Dr. Emmanuel Ikpeme to oversee the NFF secretariat and the Nigeria Premier Football League. And now, there is much talk about a Normalization Committee which will oversee the affairs of the NFF for three months and some stakeholders have gone to FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to present their own side of the story before any other NFF election can take place. Where FIFA comes into the story is the much-vaunted stricture that the world football governing body frowns at any form of political or third-party interference in the affairs of football federations under its Articles 2, and 15 (c ), on the basis of which Nigeria was sanctioned briefly in 2024. This time, there is no political or third-party interference. As the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria, the Guild of Sports Editors and other stakeholders have insisted, the matter is all about the N17 billion that the Gusau-led NFF collected. It is Nigeria’s money generously provided by the Tinubu administration. Nigerians want to know how the money was spent. Reports of poor leadership and established mismanagement, people using football to feed their own egos and ambitions destroy the country’s football potentials. We miss the good old days. Football, like life, is about winning some, losing some, but we have missed the promise that was foretold. Nigerians want the good old days back. The question is: how?