In less than a week, the Nigeria Football Federation misled the media twice through its official communications department. ABIODUN ADEWALE reflects on some of the embarrassing goofs by the federation
- Super Eagles World Cup camp
On Wednesday May 29, in order not to fly with the speculations surrounding the camping of the Super Eagles for the two 2026 World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin Republic, our correspondent reached out to the Director of Media and Communications of the NFF, Ademola Olajire, who simply noted that the camp opening date was Monday, June 3.
While that was reported, the invited players for the two crucial clashes started arriving in Uyo on Friday May 31. Sources within the team later told our correspondent that the players were sent their tickets few days before camp opened on Friday.
The first set of players in camp had a gun session on Friday before 13 players took part in their first training session on Monday morning.
The update was subsequently shared on the Super Eagles X handle on Sunday as well.
- Eaglets U-17 AFCON howler
In another confusing update shared by the NFF, Nigerians and even the Golden Eaglets thought they had qualified for the 2025 U-17 AFCON in Ivory Coast after the NFF reported that the team had qualified after beating Ghana in the third-place match of the WAFU qualifiers for the AFCON.
But that joy lasted less than two hours. The earlier information was cancelled by another email sent by the NFF, which confirmed that the team had failed to qualify after CAF insisted on a 12-team tournament.
Before the Eaglets third-place game on Tuesday, the NFF had a three-day window to confirm if the team had qualified or not.
- Mmadu’s Falcons caps
During an exclusive interview with The PUNCH in 2022, former Super Falcons midfielder, Maureen Mmadu, who is credited with 101 caps for the national team by FIFA, bemoaned the lack of recognition accorded her by the NFF, unlike her counterparts with similar achievements in the Super Eagles.
Moved by Mmadu and some ex-Falcons’ comments, the NFF hit back at the former midfielder, claiming she only played “about 52 matches” for the national team between 1995 and 2007.
It meant that the federation didn’t even have the retired Falcons star’s accurate records but Mmadu’s data, which accrued to 101 caps, was said to have been collected from the NFF by a FIFA agent.
- Musa’s Eagles caps
The number of appearances that Super Eagles captain Ahmed Musa had for the country is also another low point in NFF’s diligence at record keeping.
In September 2021, after Nigeria’s win over Cape Verde, former NFF president, Amaju Pinnick, celebrated Musa’s supposed 100th cap with a N10m gift, but that was also discredited by FIFA, who told the NFF via email that the player had amassed 98 caps.
FIFA clearly stated that two of the games the federation added to Musa’s caps (a friendly against Togo and the 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Algeria) were not recognised as a result of the number of substitutions made and the fielding an ineligible player respectively.
The NFF did admit the error and Musa had since recorded 109 appearances for Nigeria as the most capped player for the country.
- Abdullahi’s 2018 World Cup qualifier blunder
While fielding an ineligible player against Liberia had cost Musa a cap, it could have cost Nigeria the 2018 World Cup spot if the Super Eagles were not head and shoulders above their challengers.
One of the most consistent Eagles players that period, Shehu Abdullahi, was in the news for the wrong reasons after he was fielded in Nigeria’s dead rubber 2018 World Cup qualifier against Algeria.
The player had accumulated yellow cards and was due to miss the match but no one in the ranks of the country’s football governing body noticed that, even from the point of invitation.
- Martins’ age discrepancy
One of Nigeria’s most lethal strikers of his era, Obafemi Martins, was also rocked by an age saga, thanks to the inaccuracies of the NFF.
The website had erroneously listed the then-Inter Milan striker’s date of birth as May 1 1978, rather than the correct date of October 24, 1984, placing his potential move to Newcastle United into jeopardy.
It also came as an unwanted distraction for the Super Eagles during their 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, and they ultimately failed to make it to Germany.
- Siaisia, Uwe, Sadi ban
While Nigeria were still basking in the euphoria of their silver-winning campaign at the 1989 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Saudi Arabia, the FIFA hammer fell on the country due to negligence on the part of the administrators.
Trio Samson Siasia, Andrew Uwe and Dahiru Sadi had featured at the U-20 tournaments in Mexico (1983) and Moscow (1985), but we’re accused by FIFA of falsifying their ages in order to participate at the Seoul Olympics in 1988.
Nigeria were handed a two-year ban from competing in U-20 World Cup, a decision which cost the nation the hosting rights for the 1991 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
- Forgotten kits
Facing Burkina Faso in their final 1992 African Nations Cup qualifier at the National Stadium, Lagos, officials inexplicably left the squad’s kits in Ota, Ogun State, where they had camped in the build-up to the match.
To salvage the situation, the team’s tracks were cut into shorts with scissors for the players to play the match.
Ultimately, the score line, a 7-1 rout for Nigeria in which Finidi George announced his arrival with a debut goal and three assists, helped detract (somewhat) from the absent-minded kits man.
- The Paul Le Guen fiasco
In July 2016, the NFF announced the appointment of Frenchman Paul Le Guen as the new head coach of the Eagles.
Le Guen was expected to fill the void created by Sunday Oliseh’s resignation five months earlier, at which point it was imperative the NFF appointed someone due to the imminent World Cup qualifiers.
Bizarrely, Le Guen denied any knowledge of the deal, stating in clear terms he did not sign a contract with the NFF.
The federation, now firmly with egg on their face, stated in a communique that Le Guen had refused to live in Nigeria and objected to targets inserted in his contract.
- When Tammy Abraham rejected the Eagles
Wooing players of Nigerian descent who are born abroad was a thing under Pinnick, but there was one which had some drama.
Pinnick met with the Abrahams in London in 2017 in an attempt to have them Chelsea forward Tammy Abraham play for Nigeria and declared that Tammy had agreed to represent country at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.
“I had a very honest and productive discussion with Tammy and his father last week. It’s been a long process but I can tell you authoritatively that he has agreed to play for Nigeria and not England,” Pinnick said.
The excitement soon turned to embarrassment for the football chief, as Abraham stated in clear terms he never gave the green light on his switch of allegiance.
“I have informed The FA that I remain available for selection for England…I would like to clarify that I have not agreed to switch my national-team allegiance…any suggestion that I have made a decision to change my international representation is incorrect and wide of the mark” Abraham stated.
Two months later, Abraham made his debut – albeit in a friendly – for England, although he hasn’t featured consistently for the Three Lions since then.
