Connect with us

Sports

Whither Nigeria’s Football?

Published

on

On a day like this, it is vital to recall glorious days when every Nigerian looked forward to a day, the senior National football team, the Super Eagles would file out in its traditional green white green colours for one continental encounter or another. Such moments used to be climes of positive expectation and ample fora to celebrate sure victories.

Such days indeed provoked a sense of national pride, unity and confidence among Nigerians, certain that the Eagles would lord it over their opponents.

Those were the days, when the likes of Segun Odegbami, Christian Chukwu, Felix Owolabi, Emmanuel Amuneke, Rashidi Yekini, Austin Okocha, Finidi George et al held sway. When the Super Eagles were ranked among the five best teams in the world.

Also, those were moments when the national youth teams inspired confidence among Nigerians and international admirers and instilled fear in the minds of opponents.

Those were the golden days of Flying Eagles’ domination of Africa, and the Golden Eaglets conquests of the world in China 1985, Japan 1993 and South Korea 2007. They were indeed the days when the Olympic football team, the Under 23 team bestrode the world as gold medalist at the Atlanta games of 1996. When Nigeran teams qualified for African and world competitions as of right.

And like their male counterparts, Nigeria’s women team, the Super Falcons dominated the continent and were considered African Champions even before the commencement of any African Championships.

Regrettably, those days seem far gone in history. From the top echelon of world and African football, Nigeria has progressively tumbled to abysmal depths.

Currently, Nigeria occupies the number 63 position in the world from the fifth we once relished and 12th in Africa from the first we once were, according to recent ranking by the world football body, FIFA and while hitherto little accomplished countries like Cote d’Ivore, Ghana, Algeria and Mali today occupy the top four positions in the continent, we are left to rub shoulders with less footballing nations like Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and the rest, too disgraceful to list.

These days, it has become increasingly difficult for the country to qualify for global or continental competitions, not to dream of going far in such contests.

Expectedly, Nigeria failed to make it to the last African Cup of nations in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, neither is the country going to participate in the male and female football events of the forthcoming London 2012 Olympic Games, as both our Flying and Golden Eaglets have continued to stumble from one embarrassing disappointment to another.

So, where and when did the country get it wrong? Unfortunately, the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan signalled the start off  weakness in the Eagles’ fire power and their abysmal decline.

Since then, their performances have hardly justified the Super in their sobriquet, so much so, that the national team has been variously tagged ‘Super Chicken, ‘Papa Eagles’ etc.

Most potential opponents now look at Nigeria with disdain and with no more dread as was in the days gone by. They now see a country with potentials and tough look but on the field of play, a very soft underbelly. They see how ‘ordinary’ teams have even dared to beat Nigeria at her own backyard.

One nowadays hears that Nigeria is dead as a football nation, that the myth of Nigeria’s invincibility has been shattered. That was perhaps why Guinea had the courage and will-power to come to Abuja and halted the Super Eagles’ j ourney to AFCON 2012.

A lot of reasons have been advanced as responsible for Nigeria’s decline, chief among which are the state of the domestic league and lousy administrators of the game in the country.

The inability of the League to produce the next generation of  replacements for the likes  of Rashidi Yekini, Okey Isima, Daniel Amokachi, Austin Okocha, Etim Esin, Nwankwo Kanu, Richard Owubokiri, Finidi George, Henry Nwosu and so on has cost the national team dearly.

No member of that successful generation of Eagles left Nigeria for foreign clubs as immature teenagers. They had imbibed the local football culture well before going abroad, only to add some European flavour to their game. This made the players more adept and lethal as many opponents found out.

Indeed, the administrators of the game, at the levels of the League and Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, have failed to build on the successes of previous generations, as they are today  known for resorting to short cuts for  temporary glories.

For instance, when Nigeria conquered the world severally at the Under – 17 Competitions and dominated Africa with the Flying Eagles, it was expected that those crops of players would successfully graduate into  the senior level.

Unfortunately, the fact that most of them fizzled out even before being ‘eligible’ for the Super Eagles raises more questions than answers about the system that threw them up.

Were we guilty of cheating at age group competitions by using over-aged players as kids? Only a sincere self examination would provide the right answer.

Again, the football administrators have been accused of poor planning and policy summersaults, especially, as it concerns schools and grassroots competitions.

Need it be said, that National team materials in the past were not products of instant scouting but a systematic planning, selection, training and supervision from the grassroots. Other countries still enjoy the benefits of such catch them young initiative.

Current World player of the year, Lionel Messi’s selection and unveiling is an example, so is Spain’s Youth team at Nigeria’s World Youth Championship of 1999, where today’s football greats like Iker Casillas, Xavi Hernandez, Andreas, Iniesta and others played prominent roles.

But its no longer so in Nigeria. Unfortunately, the sidelining of the Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria, YSFON, which hitherto-laid the foundation for the country’s initial successes at age group competitions, has affected us negatively. But it shouldn’t be so.

That’s why the youth federation should be re-engineered along with other existing academies’ template for success and effectively utilised.

 Also, while the effective development of coaches, especially, from the grassroots is important, there should be a kind of identity or brand for the game in Nigeria, so that youngsters begin to imbibe the national character very early in life.

The NFF, must begin now to purge itself of the usual in-fighting, ego trips and clash of interests that have stagnated the federation and rubbed off negatively on the game itself. Surely, personal interests must give way for national goals for the game to thrive.

However, the harvest of disappointments for followers of the Nigerian game in recent past notwithstanding, some revolution seems to be evolving with the appointment of former Eagles Captain, Stephen Keshi as Super Eagles coach, and that seems to give cause for some optimism. But all hands need to be on deck to ensure that the game which once united the country in victory after victory is rescued and put on the path of greatness.

 Happily, Nigeria has the manpower, talent and passion to re-emerge as leading player of the game of soccer that almost, turned all citizens at once into coaches during every international encounter.

Continue Reading

Sports

Former Champion Seeks Title Defence At Para Table Tennis Tourney

Published

on

Former African champion Faith Ugwueke has expressed her ambitions for the seventh edition of the Valuejet Lagos Para Table Tennis Open which is holding at the Molade Okoya Thomas Sports Hall of the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Surulere.

The 2006 Commonwealth Games silver medallist spoke to Tidesports source her desire to defend her para singles title in the women’s category and to also secure a qualification berth for both the regional West Africa para table tennis event in Abeokuta in September and the continental championship billed to hold in Cairo, Egypt in November.

The multiple Paralympian said, “My expectation is to come out great at this wonderful tournament and to qualify for the forthcoming tournament that is coming up in Nigeria and Egypt in September and November. Last tournament, I won the singles. I won three golds at the last ValueJet tournament. And I want to believe and hope that I will maintain my position by coming in first position.”

Ugwueke had featured in the para event at the 56th Molade Okoya-Thomas National Table Tennis Championships, held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in January, where she suffered a stunning defeat to eventual finalist and tournament runner-up Taiye Oyinloye, who in turn was beaten 3-1 (11-3, 7-11, 11-6, 11-9) by Commonwealth Games medallist, Kate Oputa, to become the women’s class 1-5 champion.

The ValueJet Lagos Para table tennis Open, which is in its seventh edition, is an event sanctioned by the governing body ITTF Africa and put together by the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation in partnership with Lagos State Sports Commission.

The event will come to a close on July 11, with the competition serving as qualifiers for the country’s players for the regional tournament in Abeokuta.

A total of 98 athletes—57 men and 41 women—from Nigeria, Benin Republic, and Togo are competing in the singles events.

Notable performances have come from Alabi, Agunbiade, Ogunkunle, and Commonwealth Games medallists Kate Oputa and Faith Obazuaye, who have showcased their class against emerging talents across various classifications.

Their presence has intensified the battle for podium finishes, with top seeds asserting dominance in their respective singles events.

Continue Reading

Sports

Nigerian Athletes Serving Doping Bans

Published

on

The Athletics Integrity Unit continues to take a hard stance against doping violations across the globe, and Nigeria has not been spared. Below are ten Nigerian athletics serving doping ban Imaobong Nse Uko (July 2026)

The AIU announced in the June 2025 sanctions list on July 1 that 21-year-old quarter-miler Uko was found guilty of an anti-doping rule violation committed on June 5 2024. Her infraction falls under whereabouts failures, having missed three tests within a 12-month period.

The AIU confirmed that her period of ineligibility will run until 23 July 2026 and all results recorded from the date of the infraction have been officially disqualified.

Uko rose to fame after clinching three gold medals at the 2021 World U-20 Championships in Nairobi, winning the women’s 400 metres, 4x400m relay, and the mixed 4x400m relay.

Stephen Eloji (June 2028)

Sprinter and hurdler Stephen Eloji tested positive for dehydrochloromethyl-testosterone in an out-of-competition test in Nigeria on May 2, 2024 and has been handed a four-year ban by the AIU.

The 25-year-old was active in the American collegiate circuit, recording strong performances in the 110m hurdles and relay events as recently as April 2024, including at the Pepsi Florida Relays and Music City Challenge.

Ada Princess Bright (September 2027)

Ada Princess Bright is serving a four-year ineligibility period after testing positive for Metenolone during the National Athletics Trials held on July 6 2023 in Benin City.

She had an active season prior to her suspension, competing in national meets in Lagos, Uyo, and Benin, and earning a relay gold at the African U20 Championships in Ndola, Zambia.

Grace Nwokocha (August 2025)

Nwokocha is serving a three-year ban after testing positive for SARMS substances including Ostarine and Ligandrol during the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

The fallout was significant, as Nigeria was stripped of its women’s 4x100m relay gold medal at the Games. Prior to her suspension, she had qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, posted a personal best of 11.00s in the 100m, and reached the semi-finals in the 100m and 200m at the 2022 World Athletics Championships. She is ineligible to compete until 2 August 2025.

Yinka Ajayi (January 2030)

Ajayi, a 400m specialist and one-time Olympic representative, is currently serving an extended eight-year ban for multiple anti-doping violations.

The first sanction, issued after she tested positive for Metenolone in an out-of-competition test in Iowa, USA, led to a four-year ban starting in December 2021. However, further findings of tampering led to an additional four-year penalty in 2024, extending her suspension until January 25 2030.

Glory Okon (January 2026)

Glory Okon is serving a four-year ban for testing positive for Metenolone following an out-of-competition test conducted on December 2 2021 in Nigeria.

She previously won gold in the 400 metres at the 2019 African U-20 Championships in Abidjan and featured prominently at the 2021 National Sports Festival in Benin City.

Blessing Okagbare (July 2031)

Once the face of Nigerian athletics, Okagbare is now serving a 10-year ban following multiple anti-doping rule violations. She tested positive for human growth hormone and EPO in an out-of-competition test in June 2021.

Her suspension came while competing at the Tokyo Olympics and was announced in February 2022. It was later extended by an additional year in June 2022 due to further breaches.

Divine Oduduru (February 2029)

Oduduru’s  career was derailed by anti-doping violations linked to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. On October 12 2023, a Disciplinary Tribunal of the AIU imposed a six-year ban on Oduduru after he was found guilty of possessing and attempting to use prohibited substances and methods. The case stemmed from the wider investigation into Eric Lira, the first individual convicted under the US Rodchenkov Anti-Doping Act, who supplied banned substances to athletes, including Okagbare, ahead of the Tokyo Games.

Oduduru’s ban is effective from February 9, 2023 and will run until February 8, 2029.

Henry Azike (Lifetime ban)

Azike is one of two Nigerian athletes currently serving a lifetime ban after testing positive for Metenolone, an anabolic steroid. His case was classified as a second ADRV, automatically triggering a lifetime suspension from the sport.

Azike last competed in 2011, including at the Doha Amir Cup and Nigerian Championships in Calabar.

Vivian Chukwuemeka (Lifetime ban)

Two-time Olympian and African shot put record holder Vivian Chukwuemeka is serving a lifetime ban for a second doping offence after testing positive for Stanozolol at the 2012 National Championships in Calabar.

The 2002 Commonwealth Games champion and multiple-time African gold medallist had previously served a two-year ban following a 2009 positive test. Her personal best of 18.43m remains the African record in women’s shot put.

Continue Reading

Sports

Eagles B Players Admit Pressure For CHAN Qualification 

Published

on

EAGLES B PLAYERS
Pix: Super Eagles B players at the training session. 

Invited players into the Super Eagles B camp ahead of the rescheduled African Nations Championship tournament are feeling the pressure of selection, three days into their training camp at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, Ogun State.

The eighth CHAN tournament is taking place in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda between August 2 to 20.

Ahead of the tournament, head coach Eric Chelle had invited an initial 35 players to camp and they began training on Monday with 21 players.

Five more players arrived on Tuesday to take the number to 26 while 28 players trained on Wednesday morning with the rest expected before the end of the week.

Captain of the team through the qualifiers, Junior Nduka, spoke about the intensity of the sessions and the jostle to make the final squad.

“Everybody is under pressure but definitely the coaches want the best among the 35 players,” Nduka said.

River United and former Flying Eagles forward, Aniekeme Okon, also admitted the pressure.

“It puts pressure on us, 35 players being invited, everybody is going to give out their best with an expectation of being selected. So we keep pushing.”

Ikorodu City defender, Leonard Ngenge also said, “Obviously, it puts everyone under pressure even myself. But I just need to do my best to be on the coaches’ radar.”

Nigeria, the 2018 runners-up, are in group D of the 19-team tournament, alongside Cup holders Senegal, Sudan and Congo.

The Super Eagles B will play their first two matches of the competition, against Senegal and Sudan, at the Amman Stadium on the island of Zanzibar, before taking on Congo at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

Nigeria has never won the tournament, having finished third at the 2014 edition in South Africa before losing the final against hosts Morocco four years later.

 

Continue Reading

Trending