Nigeria’s absence from the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup means a major loss in all ramifications, writes OLUWAMAYOMIKUN OREKOYA.
The FIFA World Cup is one of the biggest sporting events in the world, and sadly, Nigeria is going to miss its first World Cup since 2006. It is their second missed World Cup since 1994 when they reached the knockout stage.
For the fans and the players alike, missing the party to Qatar was a death blow and it would take time to recover from the disappointment while the pain is still much among Nigerians, they would feel it the more once the competition gets underway later in the month.
Apart from the excitement of having Super Eagles among the 32 elite teams participating in the Mundial, the economic loss is humongous to businesses in all sectors.
For the players, not taking part in the World Cup which takes place every four years would surely rub off negatively on their value globally.
For Super Eagles skipper Ahmed Musa, it was unfortunate that they couldn’t make it to the football showpiece in Qatar.
The former CSKA Moscow winger revealed his ordeal after the Nigeria senior national team crashed out of the Qatar 2022 World Cup finals by losing to arch-rival Ghana last March.
The Super Eagles forced a decent 0-0 draw in Kumasi, but could only manage a 1-1 draw in Abuja, allowing Ghana to make it to the World Cup on the away goal rule.
Ranked higher than Ghana by FIFA, Nigeria were favourites to pick the World Cup ticket over the Black Stars.
And when the game’s outcome went against expectations, many Nigerian fans invaded the pitch, destroying parts of the facility while putting players at risk.
Having represented Nigeria at the 2014 and 2018 editions, Qatar 2022 would have been Musa’s third appearance at football’s biggest fiesta.
Musa expressed his disappointment in missing out on participating in November’s event.
“It was a very big disappointment for me because the World Cup is one of the best tournaments that as a player you want to go there,” the former Leicester City winger said.
“I’ve been to the World Cup twice and this one, I won’t be there; it’s a painful thing for me. the game against Ghana, I keep on imagining it till now. But in football, you have to get a sad day like that.
It is no surprise that the ex-Leicester City star felt a lot of pain after the second leg against Ghana.
“At the end of that game, I spent more than three days without eating. Even my wife was worried,” Musa said.
“The young players still have a lot of time. But I thought that would be my last World Cup. I can’t say anything more because that’s what God decided is going to happen.”
“After the (Ghana) game, we the players were in the dressing room for three hours. We could not go out because of the fans. Everybody was angry about the result.
“That stadium was at its best that day. NFF did their best. We stayed in one of the best hotels in Abuja.
“It’s just the luck that we didn’t have that day. So we don’t have to blame anyone. We, the players, have to take the blame.”
For Joe Aribo, missing the party to Qatar is the lowest point of his career so far.
The Southampton star, who started both games in the playoff against the Black Stars said: “I’ll say probably one of my lowest moments in football, not just because we are not going to the World Cup but in the manner, it happened, against Ghana, of course, the rivalry, so there’s just a lot to take in.”
Former Super Eagles player and coach, Samson Siasia, emphatically said that the pain of missing the World Cup would be difficult to heal in the minds of Nigerians.
“We are all still living with the pain of missing the World Cup. We expected the boys to qualify, realising how we hold football as a religion in this country but can I say they did their best? Yes they did their best but that was not enough and we just have to move on although the pain is still difficult for all of us,” he said.
While football fans and stakeholders across the country lamented missing the world cup, the cost of Nigeria’s failure cannot be understated. According to the then NFF president Amaju Pinnick, one of his first thoughts after the final whistle was the financial loss on groups who had direct or indirect plans on leveraging on the Super Eagles’ qualification.
Nigeria is a country accustomed to attending the World Cup, and the consequence of missing the tournament is substantial. One group that will be counting the loss of the Super Eagles’ absence from Qatar is sportswear maker Nike, who had a plan worth millions of dollars linked to the release of a new National team jersey.
Although Nigeria failed to impress at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, there was still a buzz around the team. The team jersey for the World Cup that year was one of the highlights of the entire tournament, creating a frenzy more suited to one of the game’s bigger names.
Featuring a design that set it apart from all the others, Nigeria’s jersey in Russia was a big hit. It became a must-have that summer and sold out almost immediately.
There were reports that Nike received at least three million pre-orders for the jersey, which was worth $90. There were also long queues at the company’s stores all over the world on the day of its release, and it sold out minutes after it was made available.
Fast forward four years and Nigeria’s absence from the World Cup means a major loss in what could have accrued to the NFF. Nike has released the jerseys, but there was less fanfare than in 2018, which automatically means lesser sales.