Nigerian football suffered another major setback on March 29 with the ouster of the senior national team, the Super Eagles, from the 2017 African Nations Cup (AFCON 2071) competition by the Pharaohs of Egypt. The competition from which the Egyptian national team sacked the Super Eagles, is Africa’s biggest football fiesta, holding in Gabon next year.
The failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for this important sporting event is expectedly sending shockwaves down the spines of football lovers in the country. The Super Eagles lost one nil to Egypt in Alexandria, after playing a 1-1 draw in Kaduna, four days earlier.
The ouster of the Super Eagles from the continental football event is a national embarrassment, more so, as it is happening for the second time in a row, having failed to qualify for the same competition in Equatorial Guinea last year, even though it was to be the defending champion at the tournament. The failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for this competition has, once again, exposed the flaws in the team and, indeed, the challenges plaguing the nation’s football body, the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF).
The defeat by Egypt is a knock-out blow for Nigeria. For a country that was once a football powerhouse which got Africa her first Olympic gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics in 1996, and her first trophy at the junior cadet level at China ’85, the ouster from AFCON 2017 is very painful.
The failure of the Super Eagles is, however, not too surprising. It is glaring that Nigeria is yet to have a formidable national team. Many factors are responsible for this unfortunate situation. The sudden ‘resignation’ of Sunday Oliseh as the coach of the Super Eagles a month ahead of the match with the Egyptian national team may have negatively affected the psychological preparedness of the players.
Drafting the Under-23 coach, Samson Siasia, as interim coach of the Super Eagles, apparently did little to bolster the dampened confidence and morale of the team. Oliseh had cited lack of support from the NFF and other violations to his three-year contract as reasons for quitting.
These factors signpost much larger issues that have continued to pose obstacles to the good performance of the Super Eagles for many years now. The result has been their mediocre performances in key matches. Clearly, the bigger problem cannot be divorced from the leadership crisis in Nigerian football. Our recent poor performance is shameful for a nation blessed with many talented players at home and abroad.
For instance, in 2014, Super Eagles as AFCON defending champions failed to pick a ticket to the continental football show in Equatorial Guinea after playing a 2-2 draw with South Africa in the final qualifying game at Akwa Ibom International Stadium.
It also seems that the leadership crisis that rocked the NFF midway into the qualification series for the AFCON 2015 edition is yet to be resolved. The ouster of the Super Eagles is a confirmation that the time is ripe for drastic action to reposition our football.
We believe that football in Nigeria has reached its lowest point. It is necessary to return the game to its glory days. We do not think that the employment of a foreign coach is the answer to the problems facing football in the country.
What we need to do is to develop a long-term master-plan for the game. Considering the fact that football is a unifying force among Nigerians, no stone should be left unturned to restore the lost fortunes of the game. Such master-plan must take a holistic view of the factors militating against the growth of the game and proffer answers that will move it forward.
In many key matches, our senior national team bungled its chances for AFCON qualification. The draw with Tanzania was a match the team was expected to win. The defeat by the Pharaohs of Egypt was a lesson on how not to prepare for a major tournament. The way forward is for us to start preparations for tournaments early enough. We should also avoid intrigues that could destabilise our players. Let the hard lessons of the team’s ouster from AFCON 2017 guide us into focusing attention on the World Cup 2018 qualifiers, which begin next year.
This is the time for our football administrators to return to the drawing board and re-organise the game. Our football surely deserves more attention and commitment than it is getting. Let those at the helms draw a line between politics and football. Our players should also be reminded there is no bigger achievement than representing one’s country at continental and global competitions. Nigerians expect only the best from them. All hands must be on deck to restore our lost glory in football.