Former Tremendous Eagles defender Sam Sodje has delivered a blunt and scathing verdict on the state of Nigerian soccer, declaring that the nation’s latest failure to qualify for back-to-back FIFA World Cups will not be unhealthy luck — however the predictable final result of years of mismanagement and technical decline.
Talking with seen frustration, Sodje mentioned Nigeria’s nationwide staff setup has turn into a revolving door of confusion, with fixed modifications in coaches, unstable management, and an absence of continuity destroying any likelihood of constructing a powerful and unified staff.
“We’ve gone backwards technically. Anybody watching can see it. The chopping and altering within the nationwide staff is killing our soccer,” he mentioned.
Based on Sodje, the Nigeria Soccer Federation (NFF) should settle for accountability for creating an atmosphere the place no long-term philosophy exists. He argued that groups succeed once they construct stability, however Nigeria retains resetting its footballing construction each few months.
“You can not construct success with out consistency. You can not run a nationwide staff like trial periods. Each time one thing goes fallacious, we tear every thing down and begin once more,” he lamented.
Sodje famous that soccer nations that dominate immediately — from Morocco and Senegal in Africa to Croatia and Japan globally — are reaping the advantages of persistence, construction, and correct technical course.
Nigeria, he mentioned, has chosen the alternative path.
“The NFF’s poor administration is why we’re right here. It’s not surprising we missed two World Cups. It’s the results of unhealthy selections and no clear footballing id,” he added.
Sodje referred to as for a whole overhaul of Nigeria’s soccer framework, insisting that the main focus should shift from blame video games to establishing a everlasting technical blueprint for the nationwide groups. Based on him, Nigeria should undertake an outlined enjoying philosophy, a secure teaching construction, and a technical division led by certified consultants — not political appointees.
He warned that except daring selections are made now, Nigeria dangers falling even additional behind rising soccer nations.
His closing message was uncompromising:
“This decline didn’t occur in a single day — but when we don’t act now, the restoration will take even longer.”
