Oliseh Demands NFF Overhaul If Eagles Miss 2026 FIFA World Cup
Former Super Eagles captain Sunday Oliseh has called for the immediate dismissal of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) leadership if Nigeria fails to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Speaking on Brila FM, a Lagos, Nigeria-based radio station, Oliseh, currently a member of FIFA’s Technical Study Group, warned that missing two consecutive World Cups would be catastrophic for Nigerian football.
‘If Nigeria does not qualify for the next World Cup, and the people running football in Nigeria are still in their positions, then we don’t even deserve to qualify for the next one,’ he said.
Nigeria currently sits fourth in Group C with seven points, trailing leaders South Africa (13 points), Rwanda and Benin Republic (eight points each). Lesotho and Zimbabwe round out the group with six and four points respectively.
Oliseh emphasized that no football federation should survive back-to-back World Cup failures.
‘Every four years that you don’t qualify for the World Cup, your football goes back eight years,’ he added, lamenting Nigeria’s absence from Qatar 2022.
With Africa now allocated nine World Cup slots, Oliseh warned that missing out again would be inexcusable. He used a metaphor to describe the NFF’s misdirection.
‘You cannot keep driving the same way towards Badagry and expect to find yourself in Sokoto,’ he said.
