Okocha: ‘The Rot in Nigerian football Is So Deep That Attempting to Fix It Can Feel Almost Impossible’
Nigerian football legend Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha has revealed why he has stayed away from football administration in Nigeria, saying the rot within the game is so deep that attempting to fix it can feel almost impossible.
Okocha made the comments during an interview with former Super Eagles captain John Obi Mikel, amid growing calls for major changes at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) following a series of disappointing results by the country’s national teams.
The pressure on the Ibrahim Gusau-led NFF board has intensified after the Super Falcons failed to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time in their history.
The setback came after the Super Eagles missed the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico for a second consecutive edition, while the country’s U-17 and U-20 men’s teams have also failed to qualify for their respective World Cups.
Calls for changes within the NFF had already intensified following the Super Eagles’ failure to reach the 2026 World Cup, but the situation worsened after the Falcons’ disappointing campaign at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco and their subsequent failure against South Africa in the World Cup playoff.
Okocha admitted that he has deliberately kept his distance from Nigerian football administration despite his experience and status in the game. However, he acknowledged that history could judge him harshly for remaining on the sidelines.
‘The truth is that the mess [in Nigerian football] is so bad that you ask yourself, is it worth it to try [to help solve the problems]? But history may not forgive us if we don’t speak out. When you say the truth, you make enemies,’ Okocha said.
Mikel, who hosted the interview, has also renewed his call for major changes within the NFF, arguing that those responsible for Nigeria’s repeated failures to qualify for the World Cup should leave their positions.
The former Chelsea midfielder said Nigeria’s failure to qualify for two successive World Cups should trigger serious accountability at the highest level of football administration, stressing that the crisis cannot simply be blamed on players or coaches.
‘Those responsible need to leave. We cannot keep missing World Cups and expect nothing to change,’ Mikel said.
