Former Nigeria international Loveday Omoruyi has called for closer collaboration between the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the National Sports Commission (NSC) as Nigerian football searches for solutions to its recent setbacks.
Omoruyi believes the NFF’s existing technical structure should play a much greater role in identifying problems and producing practical solutions after major competitions.
Rather than relying heavily on ad-hoc committees whenever a national team fails, he wants the federation’s technical department to conduct comprehensive post-tournament assessments and clearly document what went wrong.
According to the former international, such reports should examine areas including preparation, tactics, player selection, technical decisions and overall team performance.
“The technical department should be able to tell us what went wrong and what needs to be done to correct it.”
Omoruyi questioned the need for repeated fact-finding committees if the NFF’s existing technical structures are not sufficiently empowered to perform those responsibilities.
His comments come after the NFF established a fact-finding committee to investigate the recent failures of Nigeria’s national teams.
The move followed the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the Super Falcons’ historic failure to qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
While several stakeholders have welcomed the fact-finding exercise, others have questioned whether another committee is necessary when the federation already has technical and administrative structures designed to analyse national-team performances.
Omoruyi believes the solution should instead involve giving the NFF technical department the authority and resources to conduct detailed assessments and ensuring that its recommendations are acted upon.
He also called for closer cooperation between the NFF and NSC, arguing that both institutions have important roles to play in developing Nigerian football and improving the national teams.
The former international believes stronger institutional collaboration would help prevent the kind of disconnect that can occur when technical, administrative and government sports authorities operate without sufficient coordination.
Nigeria’s recent failures have intensified calls for greater accountability across the football system, with stakeholders offering differing views on whether the main problems are administrative, technical or structural.
For Omoruyi, accountability must begin with proper technical analysis: identify the problems, produce clear recommendations and empower the appropriate football structures to implement them.
