Former Nigeria international Sylvanus Okpala has called for an honest assessment of the state of Nigerian football, describing the country’s recent run of failures as a particularly difficult period for the sport.
Okpala believes the decline has affected everyone involved in Nigerian football, from players and coaches to administrators and supporters, and says stakeholders must be prepared to confront the problems without allowing sentiment to influence the conversation.
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The former Super Eagles player and coach pointed to Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the last two FIFA World Cups as evidence of the country’s decline at the senior men’s level.
The situation has been compounded by the Super Falcons’ failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, ending their record of appearing at every edition of the women’s tournament since its inception.
Okpala said the Falcons’ absence is particularly significant given Nigeria’s longstanding dominance of African women’s football.
“This is a dark time for Nigerian football. This is not the time for sentiments; we have to tell ourselves the truth.”
The former international believes the recent failures should force football stakeholders to examine what has gone wrong rather than simply looking for individuals to blame.
Nigeria possesses a large pool of talented players, many of whom perform at the highest levels with clubs around the world. However, Okpala’s concern is that the country’s football structures have increasingly struggled to convert that individual talent into consistent success for the national teams.
His comments come amid growing calls for a broader review of Nigerian football administration, preparation and development structures.
The NFF has already established a fact-finding committee to investigate the recent failures of the national teams, while former internationals and football stakeholders continue to offer different views on whether the problems are primarily administrative, technical or systemic.
Okpala believes the current situation requires stakeholders to put personal and institutional interests aside and focus on identifying the real causes of the decline.
The former Super Eagles midfielder has also previously advocated stronger technical structures and better planning around the national teams, arguing that Nigeria’s football problems cannot be solved through short-term reactions to individual tournament failures.
With Nigeria now facing major rebuilding challenges across both its men’s and women’s national teams, Okpala believes honest assessment and decisive action must replace sentiment if the country’s football fortunes are to improve.
