Former Nigeria defender Ben Iroha has expressed deep concern over the state of Nigerian football, saying he finds it difficult to accept the country’s recent setbacks at various levels of the game, Completesports.com reports.
Iroha spoke against the backdrop of the Flying Eagles’ failure to qualify for the CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations and, by extension, the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup finals, as well as the Super Falcons’ failure to secure a place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Nigerian Football Faces Fresh Setbacks
“As if that was not enough heartbreak, the Super Falcons lost the opportunity to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup to be held in Brazil,” Iroha lamented in an exclusive chat with Completesports.com.
“Apart from the defeat to Malawi in the quarter-final, the Super Falcons failed again to beat South Africa in a World Cup play-off that could have given us a glimmer of hope of going to the Women’s World Cup.
Also Read: National Sports Commission — Take the Lead and Solve Nigerian Football’s Problems – Odegbami
“The Flying Eagles’ case was also pathetic. How could they have lost twice to Burkina Faso at such a crucial stage and by such embarrassing scorelines?”
Nigerian Football Needs Urgent Attention
Iroha continued: “I can’t believe this, frankly speaking. It’s heartbreaking. The Super Eagles didn’t go to the 2026 World Cup even when they had the play-off opportunity to do so. Now, the Super Falcons aren’t going to the World Cup even when the play-off presented a last-minute opportunity.
“Nigerians painfully watched the 2026 World Cup on television. We’re going to watch the Women’s World Cup, U-20 World Cup and even the U-17 World Cup from the comfort of our living rooms. I can’t believe this is happening to Nigeria, despite our huge talents,” Iroha bitterly lamented.
Nigeria Must Find Better Way Forward — Iroha
Asked what he thought was the way out, the 1994 AFCON winner and 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup-winning Golden Eaglets assistant coach said Nigerian football needs to engage in serious introspection.
“We need to sit down and find out what has gone wrong; where we’ve got it wrong; what we’ve not done that we should do. This is the first step. This trend can’t continue,” Iroha concluded bitterly.
