By Solomon Nwoke
Former Super Eagles forward, Jonathan Akpoborie has said that the overbearing political and bureaucratic situations that bedevils the country’s football administration are the major forces costing the country’s appearance at the 2026 World Cup to be co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico.
The former Hansa Rostock and VfB Stuttgart striker said it will be outrageous, annoying and disgraceful if Nigeria fails again to qualify for the World Cup in 2026 for two consecutive times.
Akpoborie who spoke at the Ikoyi Club 1938 in Lagos said that football needs to be taken away from politicians otherwise “the fortune of football in Nigeria will continue to drop”.
Continuing, he said, “We keep saying we are at the lowest level. It will still continue to drop, if our football is tied to the politicians. We believe they should remove the state ownership of teams”.
He stressed that the situation the Super Eagles found themselves in is not totally the fault of the players, but majorly due to administrative lapses of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF.
He said that Nigeria did not have any reason to lose the last game against the Bafana Bafana of South Africa if NFF were well organized.
“It’s outrageous that Nigeria may not be going to the World Cup for two consecutive times.
It’s actually very annoying. It is disgraceful. I cannot tell you that it is the fault of the players.
The players have their own faults but it is largely due to the organising aspect of the game.
The NFF and the people around the Super Eagles are not claiming responsibility. If you don’t organise well, you will not perform well.
We kind of overlook everything regarding the organisation and everything the boys will do before the game.
But these boys, the majority of them come from Europe and they play in a system where everything is well organised.
So if they come and things are not well organised, I’m sorry, they cannot give you an answer,” he said, adding that the South Africans were smarter in organizing themselves than Nigeria
