Former Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong has called for greater stability and a stronger administrative and technical structure around Nigeria’s national team, warning that individual talent can no longer be expected to continually cover weaknesses within the system.
Troost-Ekong, who retired from international football in December 2025, believes Nigeria still possesses enough quality to compete with Africa’s best but says consistency must run from the Nigeria Football Federation through the coaching staff to the players.
“We are at a point where we need to see some consistency, I think, from the top down. From the federation to the coach to this group of players,” Troost-Ekong told beIN SPORTS. “I think the talent is there in abundance.”
His comments come after another difficult period for the Super Eagles, who missed qualification for a second consecutive World Cup and have started the 2027 AFCON qualifiers with a 2-1 victory over Madagascar followed by a damaging 3-0 defeat to Guinea-Bissau.
Troost-Ekong believes retaining Eric Chelle on a longer-term arrangement represents a positive move towards creating the continuity Nigeria have lacked.
“Appointing Eric Chelle for the long term has been a great thing to do,” he said, pointing also to Chelle’s involvement with Nigeria’s Olympic team and knowledge of emerging players.
However, the former Udinese and Watford defender stressed that coaching continuity alone will not solve Nigeria’s problems.
“The team needs the structure and the backbone, and we can’t just rely on talent alone,” Troost-Ekong said. “We’ve managed to cover a lot of gaps over the years. But now, over time, those things will get exposed.”
He also warned that the rising standard across African football means Nigeria can no longer expect superior individual quality to guarantee results.
For Troost-Ekong, the pathway back to sustained success requires the Super Eagles to be given a stable platform on which their considerable talent can flourish.
“They need to have the right structure around it,” he added.
His message is clear: Nigeria’s problem is not a shortage of footballers capable of competing at the highest level, it is building the structure and consistency capable of turning that talent into sustained success.
