Ex-captain of the Super Eagles John Mikel Obi has blasted the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) over the country’s failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Soccernet.ng reports.
The current crop of Nigerian players are now on the wrong side of history, as the three-time African Champions have now missed consecutive World Cups for the first time since their Mundial debut in 1994.
After a poor start to the qualifying campaign, the Super Eagles miraculously qualified for the World Cup play-offs.
They defeated Gabon in the semi-final, but fell short against DR Congo, and their dreams came crashing down.
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Mikel blasts NFF for Super Eagles’ failure
The ex-Chelsea man played in the 2014 and 2018 World Cups for the Super Eagles, and won the AFCON Championship in 2013.
Since he retired from the Nigerian National team, the squad has faltered across all levels, and he labelled the failure to make the World Cup an utter failure on the Federation’s part.
“It’s a failure, that’s what it is. It was just a disappointment,” the one-time UEFA Champions League winner said on the Obi One Podcast.
“What happened before the two games were situations that shouldn’t have come up.
“Whichever way you look at it, whether it was resolved or not, it would always affect the players.
“Yes, we did win the first game, but in the second game, we couldn’t get through. Those situations shouldn’t have happened.
“Players skipping training for such important games, you can’t do that. You have to pick your battles sometimes as players.
“When you find yourself in a situation like ours, in a place of must-win games, I just think it could’ve been avoided. It should’ve been resolved because those games were very important. Probably the most important games of the player’s lives.
“If there’s negativity, it’ll affect everyone. The players, the fans, the nation, it had everyone worried.
‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’
An emotional and impassioned @mikel_john_obi explains why missing out on World Cup qualification means so much more to Nigerian people.
‘Voodoo’ farce, NFF cull & a future role? https://t.co/DwYF9ryc3Q pic.twitter.com/AWZVrRHY9e
— The Obi One Podcast (@obionepodcast) November 19, 2025
The 38-year-old pressed further, moving on from the NFF to Nigeria’s administration as a whole, stating the major sport that unites the nation across board isn’t even being well done.
“I did say it, whatever it takes for the NFF to make the players comfortable for the play-offs should’ve been done, but what did they do?
“A few days after that, something else came up. Do we have the players to take us to the World Cup? Of course we do. The potential is there.
“But when you have the people in charge constantly putting the team in this negative situation, it brings the whole team down.
“We won against Gabon, but couldn’t defeat Congo. It’s all just negative, and that’s my frustration with the NFF. They’re not the right people to motivate these players.
“If these things happen, it doesn’t matter if it’s sorted out; it lingers in the players’ minds. They’re not focused mentally.
“It has happened time after time, year after year. Two consecutive World Cups missed, it’s a disaster.
“Where do we go from here? When it comes to African Football, we’re no longer the giants of Africa, let’s not kid ourselves.
Quizzed if Nigeria can make up for their World Cup failure by winning the AFCON 2025 tournament, the ex-Stoke City man said;
“Giants should be in a World Cup. AFCON’s coming up, and we have to regroup and go forward. I don’t think winning the AFCON will make up for what has happened.
“The average Nigerian wants to see the team at the World Cup, competing with the big countries. That’s where the best play.
“To miss that twice in a row would never be made up for by winning the AFCON. It could be a little bit, but not totally.
“It’s a shame that a striker in his prime, absolutely on fire, wouldn’t be at the World Cup.
“Erling Haaland knew about this; Norway weren’t in the World Cup for about three decades, and he knew he had to be there, on the biggest stage, but our best African striker [Osimhen] can’t showcase his talent on that stage.
“The changes have to be made; the NFF, the whole board has to go, because they do the same thing over and over again. It’s insanity. They’ll keep failing.
“The corruption is incredible. A President leaves the Federation and puts his own boy in it. It’s a circus. If anyone gets into the national team, a certain percentage goes to them.
“Football can stop a war in Nigeria; it’s what unites the nation. There is no future for the country, even for the youth. There are no jobs.
“It’s not just sports; it’s everything. We are not progressing; we’re regressing.
“But then again, if you can’t qualify from such a group or can’t defeat DR Congo, you shouldn’t be at the World Cup,” the 2016 Olympic medallist concluded.
The NFF penned an official apology letter to the Nigerian President after they failed to qualify for the World Cup.
