Former Chairman of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Technical Committee, Barrister Christopher Green, has described the Super Eagles’ absence from the 2026 FIFA World Cup as a national embarrassment, insisting Nigeria had no excuse for missing football’s biggest tournament despite the expansion of Africa’s qualification slots.
READ ALSO: ‘Missing The World Cup Still Hurts’ — Alloy Agu Backs Nigeria To Bounce Back
The respected football administrator lamented that while 10 African nations earned the opportunity to showcase their talents on the world stage under FIFA’s expanded format, Nigeria—a three-time African champion and one of the continent’s traditional football powerhouses—was nowhere to be found.
Green’s comments come amid growing criticism of Nigeria’s failure to qualify for a second consecutive FIFA World Cup, a setback many stakeholders have described as one of the darkest periods in the country’s football history.
“It is a shame that Nigeria is not at the World Cup. When ten African countries qualified and we’re not among them, it tells you something went seriously wrong,” Green said.
The former Rivers State Commissioner for Sports stressed that with the abundance of talent available to the Super Eagles, qualifying for the World Cup should be the minimum expectation rather than an achievement.
He argued that Nigeria’s absence has deprived the global football audience of watching some of Africa’s finest players perform on the biggest stage.
“With the quality of players Nigeria has, the minimum expectation should always be qualification. We have too much talent not to be at the World Cup,” he added.
Green urged the Nigeria Football Federation to treat the recent disappointment as a wake-up call by implementing long-term reforms, improving football administration and creating greater stability within the national teams.
As attention gradually shifts towards the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the road to the 2030 FIFA World Cup, the former NFF Technical Committee chairman believes Nigerian football must learn from its recent failures to ensure the Super Eagles never miss another World Cup opportunity.
