Nigeria is in very big trouble. The country must wake up to the reality that our national flag won’t be hoisted among the comity of nations at the 2026 World Cup to be co-hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico. I’m not an alarmist. But like the trained watchdog, I always raise the alarm when danger lies in wait ahead of us in sporting competitions – this time the 2026 World Cup.
Most Nigerians are experts in crying over spilled milk. We derive pleasure in looking at the effects of a problem instead of trying to diagnose the cause of an ailment and treat it at its roots. We enjoy listening to ourselves believing that the world would wait for us while we are still in our deep sleep.
Are we going to watch in awe whilst the ticket is being prepared tacitly for South Africa? The latest twist to the qualification campaign has given the group rival Bafana Bafana of South Africa a slight edge in the race for the qualification.
A report in the international media last week Sunday indicated that: ”The Warriors of Zimbabwe have concluded arrangements to have the rest of their home games in the qualifier in South Africa. Zimbabwe does not have a CAF-approved stadium, as it is working to revamp the National Sports Stadium based in Harare.
The immediate question to ask is if it is right for a member of a particular World Cup group to choose to play her matches in the home country of one of the group’s members. Where lies the home advantage that teams have in such round-round fixtures? Who would the Bafana Bafana fans be rooting for when Zimbabwe plays her first ‘home’ game inside the Orlando Stadium against South Africa? Who would the South African fans be rooting for when the current group leaders Rwanda come up against Zimbabwe, knowing the threat they would be to Bafana Bafana if they win? Dear reader, if you ask me to answer my posers, who would I ask?
The group comprises Nigeria, South Africa, Benin, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Lesotho. The group winner will directly qualify for the World Cup, and the runner-up could compete in the play-off to advance to the inter-confederation playoffs.
Granted the Zimbabweans hosted Super Eagles at the Huye Stadium in Rwanda during the first round of the qualifier which ended in a draw. Shouldn’t we question the rationale in shifting the venue for Zimbabweans for the second time, especially after a game had been played there? Is this not a case of shifting the goalpost after the competition has begun? If Nigeria couldn’t beat Lesotho in Uyo, what is the guarantee that we would beat Zimbabwe inside the Orlando Stadium with South Africans obviously supporting them?
The Warriors of Zimbabwe will use Orlando Stadium as their home ground against Lesotho on June 7 and Bafana Bafana will then host them four days later on June 11. Zimbabwe does not have a CAF-approved stadium, as it is working to revamp the National Sports Stadium based in Harare.
Aren’t these landmines sufficient markers to guide us towards picking the next Technical Adviser for the Super Eagles, now that we have chosen a coaching upstart as our Head Coach? Why do we pretend as if the position of the Technical Adviser is atop that of the Head Coach? Of course, the occupants for both posts have a foreigner as Technical Adviser whilst a Nigerian carries the tag of Head Coach. Need I list the past occupants since 1976? Or, aren’t two heads better than one again?
Interestingly, a coach is as good as his last game? Would we say that the country’s 2-0 loss to Mali in a recent international friendly match is sufficient citation for Finidi to be handed the daunting task of beating South Africa in Uyo and Benin Republic on away soil? Finidi’s preference for European coaching assistants confirms my submission in the column that Nigerian coaches can’t do this job diligently. Finidi’s choice of Daniel Amokachi as the second assistant coach is political with Baruwa keeping his position as goalkeeper trainer. Curiosity compelled this writer to ask who Abideen Baruwa is. As a goalkeeper trainer for the Super Eagles, is this not the reason we have goalkeeping problems in the team? You tell me.
Finidi has given key positions such as first assistant coach, fitness trainer, and match analyst to Europeans because they would add more value to the team’s tactical play based on their antecedents on the job and experience than Nigerians, truth be told. So, where are those who rooted for indigenous coaches for the Super Eagles which produced Finidi as the Head Coach? He has unwittingly picked foreigners ahead of Nigerians. Sadly, the NFF is saying they can’t stop his choices though they negate the very principle for which Finidi was selected. What a country.
What Finidi’s choices suggest is that Daniel Amokachi is behind a German-Nigerian who is the first assistant. This German-Nigerian holds a German passport and may not have visited the country like the two other European match analysts and fitness trainers. It is okay for a coach to pick European assistants. But, it’s forbidden for us to recruit a very competent coach. Isn’t this another case of fermented hypocrisy?
Those who have thrown Finidi at us have forgotten that they told us that he didn’t have the coaching licence to sit on the bench. If yes, when did he upgrade his credentials? One wonders what those who stated that the government ordered them to give the job to Nigerians would now say. The same government would cast an indulgent eye when money is being spent on foreigners that they directed to be given to Nigeria. A bunch of fermented hypocrites.
My problem with those insisting on having a Nigerian coaching bench is that they are quick to multiply the going rate of the naira to the dollar when the figure of what foreign coaches earn comes to the fore. They forget the huge returns on this kind of investment if the team does well in such a major soccer competition as the senior World Cup.
Interestingly, Nigeria has started poorly on the road to the 2026 World Cup qualification, drawing at home to lowly rated Lesotho and holding Zimbabwe to an embarrassing draw away from home and both games ended 1-1. The Super Eagles are currently third in Group C behind Rwanda and South Africa and would be hoping to get their first wins when they face the Bafana Bafana and Benin Republic next month.
If Nigeria must avoid missing the next World Cup, the players must know the implications of not attending the Mundial. Not attending the World Cup for eight years would destroy the progress we have achieved in the past. Nigeria’s other cadres have missed out on participating in their World Cups. We glossed over it. Soon, the hurricane would sweep off Nigeria from the World Cup, leaving in its wake sorrow, blood, tears, and all shades of buck-passing.
Giving Finidi the task of handling the Super looks like a trap set to destroy his football career except Nigerians support him.
No stories. The World Cup isn’t executed through prayers, neither is it a lottery lot nor a centre where anyone can walk in to operate the gaming machines. No. It is a platform to showcase excellence built over time and not a stage to exhibit mediocrity as we have always done in the past.
