Sports Ministry plans overhaul of Nigerian football, blames World Cup failure on NPFL’s weakness

After senior executive members of the Nigeria Football Federation met the Sports Ministry last Monday, details of some of the issues discussed have emerged.

According to Complete Sports, the Ministry plans to overhaul the Nigerian football ecosystem after blaming the failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for the World Cup on the failure of the Premier League in the country.

The ministry said the failure to make it to Qatar was disappointing and Nigerians were right to react to the abysmal showing.

The meeting also reportedly had an official from the Presidency in attendance as the NFF were granted an opportunity to explain what went wrong.

State of the Nigeria Professional Football League was sought by the Ministry as a report on the league was ordered.

Decisions on the technical make-up of the various national teams were also made by the Ministry.

The ministry is also believed to be waiting for the various reports it asked for before taking some of its decisions.

Some of the decisions reached after the meeting were;

• The announcement of a three-man technical coaching crew of strictly Nigerian coaches to take charge of the CHAN Eagles.

• Selection and invitation of 30 players to Super Eagles camp. The Ministry also reportedly gave its word to help find a suitable camp for the team.

• An upgraded plan by the NFF on improving the NPFL to better standards as seen in some parts of Africa and Europe. The Ministry believes players from the league must be able to represent the Super Eagles at major tournaments.

• Immediate roll out of plans for NFF election in September 2022

• Search for foreign technical adviser with vast understanding of Nigerian and African football and the workings of the government.

Decisions were also reportedly taken on the Flying Eagles and Golden Eaglets team in order to prepare them for the competitions ahead.

Nigerians have called for a complete overhaul of Nigerian football as they yearn for the minimum standards necessary to place Nigeria better on the map.

With the 2023 African Cup of Nations qualifiers starting in June, the Super Eagles have very minimal time to bounce back and get back straight to business after the disappointment of the failure to qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup.