Not satisfied with inability of the Super Eagles to qualify for next year’s FIFA World Cup after similarly missing out of the last edition in Qatar in 2022, a former Vice President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Chief Gabriel Chukwuma, asked for the resignation of the entire board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) led by Ibrahim Gusau.
Although the NFF has petition FIFA to disqualify DR Congo who defeated Super Eagles in shootouts of the final match of the African Playoffs in Morocco last month for fielding nine players that Nigeria consider ineligible”, Chukwuma stressed that seeking to get into the Intercontinental playoffs through the boardroom was beneath the three-time continental champions.
“The NFF board should resign because if they had gotten their acts together earlier, the Super Eagles would have qualified with ease without depending on play-offs or boardroom points now.”
The former proprietor of Gabros FC of Nnewi who is one of the highest stakeholders in Nigerian football, having managed a football club for 22 years from amateur to professional rank, said that apart from not qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, the current board rendered all male national teams powerless.
“The board has through cluelessness reduced our male teams to minnows of African football, beaten easily by unpopular or unknown names in football,” he noted with sadness.
Chukwuma recalled: “Since last year, I have been telling them to contact me so that I can assist in contributing money and can possibly engage some of my friends to assist, if money was their problem.
“Now, they have failed, there is nothing they can do. They should stop deceiving President Bola Tinubu that there is still hope for Super Eagles to Reach the World Cup to be hosted by USA, Canada and Mexico.
“Just because our president is a listening president, they go to him and deceive him. They forget that Nigerians like football. They hardly eat or sleep when Nigerian teams are playing as they are always ready to watch them.
“The federal government gave NFF tax payers’ money, including my money and they swallowed it. Nigeria have the crop of best legs in the whole world. But the problem is that those who manage our football dont know what to do, they are only interested in doing players’ agent.
He decried the situation where everyone in football administration will wants his or her players to be in the teams to play matches.
“Football is either you get results or you get rich. As long as you want to enrich yourself you cannot get results. I said this many months ago that Nigeria cannot qualify for the World Cup. Not that I was wishing the country bad luck but just to challenge those managing our football to qualify for the World Cup.”
Chukwuma reiterated, ” Let me say it again, all NFF board members should resign from their positions to allow young managers take over the management of football in the country and prepare for the 2030 World Cup.
“It is shameful that some countries that are not up to Lagos qualified easily. And now, I am hearing that these same people who have dragged our football into the abyss are preparing to return for another term.
“It is an insult to the whole nation. If President Tinubu allows them to go for anothet term, we have accepted defeat and should say goodbye to ever qualifying for the World Cup. And if they are not resigning, I am ready to go to court to force them out, for capable people to take over. “ (ThisDay)
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