Former Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi has called for the dissolution of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) should the national team fail to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
LEADERSHIP reports that Nigeria’s qualification hopes were hanging after the Super Eagles were held to a draw by South Africa in their Group C encounter.
The result leaves Nigeria third in the group, six points adrift of the Bafana Bafana with just two matches left to play.
Reacting to the situation, Mikel did not mince words about who should take the blame.
“If Nigeria doesn’t qualify for the World Cup, the entire NFF board has to go. It’s unacceptable,” the former Chelsea midfielder declared on his Obi One Podcast.
The 2013 AFCON winner expressed deep frustration at the possibility of missing back-to-back World Cups, following Nigeria’s failure to reach the 2022 edition in Qatar.
“We didn’t qualify for Qatar, the last World Cup, and now it looks like again we are not going to make it. Honestly, I have nothing to say about it,” he said.
Mikel, however, spared the players from total blame, insisting that the bigger problem lies within the country’s football administration.
“Do you blame the players? No, I don’t blame the players. Yes, the players have to take responsibility for the situation but are you gonna blame the players alone? No,” he explained.
The former Super Eagles skipper lamented how poor management of the game in Nigeria continues to affect the team’s reputation on the global stage.
“Again, we talk about it so many times and that’s why you have people disrespecting the African continent and football,” he added.
Mikel insisted that those in charge of football in Nigeria must be held responsible for the Eagles’ underwhelming campaign.
“The people that run football in Nigeria should be held accountable,” he said.
With two games left, Nigeria faces an uphill battle to revive its World Cup dream.
