Sports
2018 W/Cup Draw: What Nigeria Must Do To Qualify
Following the draw for the
2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers which has seen Nigeria drawn in a difficult Group B with Algeria, Cameroon and Zambia, reactions among Nigerians have gone into an overdrive.
As is now usual, pessimism, rather than optimism is renting the air, with most Nigerians already giving up hope before the first ball of the qualifiers is kicked.
Recent qualifiers for major competitions have not ended well for Nigeria, as the Super Eagles failed to make the 2015 and now 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.
Several reasons have been attributed for Nigeria’s recent failures in qualifying for tournaments.
However, blow are seven things that should be done to ensure the Super Eagles make it to the next World Cup in Russia.
1. Get a substantive coach NOW!
This seems obvious but it is one thing that must be done as soon as possible. The team has been without a substantive coach since February, when Sunday Oliseh quit the post and they have had four coaches (both interim and substantive) in the last one year.
That is surely not good enough and if the Nigeria Football Federation NFF is serious about curtailing Nigeria’s recent failures to qualify for major competitions, this should be their first line of action following the draw.
2. Sort out usual poor travel arrangements
It says a lot that the Super Eagles were unsure of their mode of transport 72-hours to the crucial Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Egypt in Alexandria last March.
If the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF are serious about qualifying to the Russia 2018 World Cup, such issues should not even arise.
Travel plans should be sorted and known well ahead of time.
The NFF has been complaining about paucity of funds, but it should sort itself out before the start of the qualifiers as Nigerians will not accept another excuse from them if they failed to make it to another major tournament.
3. Sort out players’ bonuses and allowances
The players of the Super Eagles have not been paid their match bonuses and allowances over the last five games and counting and word is that the lads are unimpressed.
This is one area the NFF must work on.
Whatever the plan is, they must put them in motion now and communicate such to the players, rather than waiting for when the qualifiers begin.
It has been revealed that the technical committee of the NFF has decided against the payment of bonuses on a per-game basis and while that is laudable given the current financial situation, it is also advisable same is immediately communicated to the players for better understanding before the start of the qualifiers.
4. Who will play for the Super Eagles?
This may seem like a mundane question, but its importance cannot be overemphasized. The qualifiers for the 2015 and 2017 AFCON saw the team being chopped and changed game after game, with very little or no consistency in the set of players used.
This particular area is dependent on the coach and whoever it turns out to be, must ensure he gets a core set of players to execute the qualifiers and that is not to say there won’t be room for replacing misfiring players or bringing in in-form ones, but there must be a core set.
Like one of the players said recently: “Why are we always changing players? It’s difficult playing with a new player today and tomorrow he is replaced by another one.”
It says a lot that over the last one year, the team have had three captains.
5. Make home games difficult for opponents
Nigerians and the Super Eagles are always nice to opponents when playing at home…too nice. And to imagine they don’t usually get as much from opponents when they play away, it’s a bit surprising to say the least.
This is not to say opponents should not be accorded due respect and warmth, but the players must man-up and stop being naïve all too often on the pitch.
A recent case in study is the 1-1 draw with Egypt in Kaduna in a 2017 AFCON qualifier.
Leading 1-0 with stoppage time left, the players – Carl Ikeme especially – should have known not to kick the ball too close into touch when Godfrey Oboabona went down. That singular act resulted in Egypt scoring and dashing Nigeria’s qualification hopes.
Then the fans must also play their part. There are games where they actually boo the Super Eagles and cheer the opponents. That should never happen again. Get behind your team and support them till the end.
row since the present administration came into being in 2014.
Chris Oguguo
Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, in Rivers State, will be at the centre stage on Wednesday as the VC Cup final, both male and female categories will be played at the prestigious Stadium in the school.
The both final matches promises to be exciting, as arrangements have been concluded to watch one of the best VC football Cup finals in the history.
VC Cup tournament is an annual sporting event that involves all students in various facilities.
According to the Chief coach of the University football team, David Egbiri, the female will final will kick off 2pm between faculty of Human Kinetics and Management Sciences, while the male will kick off by 4pm between Social Science and Natural Applied Science
Egbiri, who was former coach of Abiola Babe FC and Concord FC, lauded the Vice Chancellor. Prof. Okechukwu Onuchukwu for releasing funds on sports development, saying that he has never also failed the School in terms of infrastructural development.
“The VC who is also a sports personality has not failed to release funds for this tournament, apart from that he has not also disappointed in terms of developing the school in all ramifications.
“I want to say that my major reason for accepting to coach the school football team is to develop the youth through sports”, Coach Egbiri said.
The former Eagle Cement Coach, explained that he was not encouraged the way and manner the young ones are going about sports because there is no discipline and so much quest for quick money.
” Honestly, the way young players are looking money was just too much. Looking for short cuts always to make money that is more reason some of them don’t go far and end up badly
” In our days we first of all think about how to make name and we are passionate about it. I went to school and saw myself in sports, while my initial intention was to read electrical engineering” he stated.
Tonye Orabere
The Delta State Sports Commission has come under scrutiny following the state’s disappointing performance at the just-concluded National Youth Games (NYG) in Asaba, where Lagos dethroned Delta to clinch top spot.
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, visibly displeased with both the poor outing of Team Delta and the organizational lapses witnessed during the Games, summoned an emergency meeting with the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) immediately after the closing ceremony.
Delta, which had dominated the NYG by finishing first in the last eight editions, only managed second place this time — a result the governor described as “totally unacceptable,” especially given the state’s significant investment in the event.
According to a reliable source privy to the meeting, Governor Oborevwori expressed deep disappointment, stressing that his administration had provided all necessary support to the Sports Commission and the LOC to ensure Delta retained its traditional top position.
In a decisive move, the governor demoted his Executive Assistant on Sports and former Director-General of the Sports Commission, Festus Owhojero, under whose leadership the Games were organized. Owhojero was reassigned from Executive Assistant (EA) to Senior Special Assistant (SSA) with immediate effect.
The governor’s action, our source revealed, reflects his zero-tolerance stance on incompetence and underperformance within his administration. Mr. Owhojero thus becomes the first high-profile casualty of the governor’s resolve to reposition sports in Delta State.
Furthermore, Oborevwori directed the Sports Commission and LOC officials to submit a detailed report on the Games, outlining what went wrong and providing recommendations for improvement. The governor emphasized the need for urgent reforms to restore Delta’s dominance, especially as the state is set to host the next edition of the Games under an existing memorandum of understanding (MoU).
The Nigeria Football Federation has distanced itself from a post-match statement that criticised some Super Eagles players following the team’s 1-1 draw with South Africa in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
The statement, issued by the NFF’s Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire, singled out forward Cyriel Dessers and captain William Troost-Ekong for criticism.
It accused Dessers of being sluggish and faulted Ekong for the own goal that gave Bafana Bafana the lead.
However, NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, said on Wednesday that the statement did not represent the official position of the Federation.
“I saw the release just like everyone else did. Nobody in the Federation is happy with it,” Sanusi said.
“The NFF did not authorise that statement. We have great respect for all the players. Blaming an individual for a team result is unfair.”
He added that the Federation regards the South Africa match as a collective effort and will not support attempts to scapegoat any player.
“When we win, it’s a team victory. When we lose, it’s also collective. No player should be singled out,” Sanusi said.
He described the targeted criticism of Troost-Ekong as unjustified, noting that the defender had previously been celebrated as the Most Valuable Player at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire.
“It was an unfortunate own goal. His intention was to clear the ball. Anyone who knows football understands that such things happen,” he said..
Sanusi also expressed confidence in the team’s unity, revealing that efforts were ongoing to regroup and refocus ahead of the remaining qualifiers and AFCON.
“Our house is in order. We’re preparing for the rest of the qualifiers and the AFCON in Morocco,” he said.
“There’s no problem with our players or coaching crew. Our relationship remains cordial. The government and the NFF are proud of the players’ efforts.”
The Federation had initially praised Calvin Bassey for his equalising goal and lamented the team’s failure to convert second-half chances.
But Sanusi made it clear that internal disciplinary action would be taken over the unauthorised release.
“I can assure you the NFF will take action on the matter,” he said.
Nigeria currently sit third in Group C of the CAF World Cup qualifiers with 11 points from eight matches. South Africa lead the group with 17 points.
The Super Eagles must now win their remaining games against Lesotho and Benin Republic and hope other results go their way to secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.