World Cup Failure: Ex-Super Eagles Captain Calls For NFF Chiefs To Step Down

World Cup Failure: Ex-Super Eagles Captain Calls For NFF Chiefs To Step Down

By Admin 

Former Nigeria national football team captain John Obi Mikel has called for the resignation of officials at the Nigeria Football Federation following Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

The former midfielder described the situation as a “disaster” after Nigeria missed out on the tournament for the second consecutive edition, sparking criticism from former players and supporters.

Nigeria’s hopes of reaching the global showpiece were ended in November after the Super Eagles suffered a penalty shoot-out defeat to the DR Congo national football team during the second round of African qualifying.

The result means Nigeria will not feature at the upcoming World Cup scheduled to be hosted in United States, Canada, and Mexico, extending a worrying trend after the team also failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

For a nation widely regarded as one of Africa’s football powerhouses, the latest setback has generated widespread criticism of the country’s football administration.

Mikel, who earned 89 caps for Nigeria and represented the country at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2018 FIFA World Cup, admitted the disappointment has been difficult to accept.

“It’s a hammer blow,” he said. “When you have a country as big as we do, over 300 million people, the biggest country in Africa, and we’re not going to the World Cup for the second time in a row.”

The former Chelsea FC midfielder argued that responsibility for the repeated failures rests with the federation’s leadership and insisted that accountability is necessary.

According to Mikel, the current administrators—including NFF president Ibrahim Musa Gusau—should step aside to allow new leadership to rebuild Nigerian football.

“I’ve said it so many times that the FA, the people that are running the FA, they should all resign,” Mikel said. “They have to resign because it’s the second time it’s happened.”

He also warned that Nigeria risks falling behind other African footballing nations if urgent reforms are not implemented.

Pointing to the progress made by the Morocco national football team, Mikel said Nigeria should be leading the continent rather than struggling to keep pace with its rivals.