‘They should all resign’ — Ex-Super Eagles captain calls for heads of NFF chiefs after World Cup failure

Former Nigeria national football team captain John Obi Mikel has called for the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to resign following Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the next FIFA World Cup.

The former midfielder described the situation as a “disaster” after the Super Eagles missed the tournament for the second consecutive time.

Nigeria’s hopes of reaching the global tournament were dashed in November after a dramatic defeat to DR Congo national football team on penalties during the second round of African qualifying.

The elimination means the Super Eagles will miss the upcoming World Cup in North America, barring a last-minute FIFA decision to save them, extending a worrying trend after the team also failed to reach the previous edition.

For a nation widely regarded as one of Africa’s football powerhouses, the setback has triggered widespread criticism.

Mikel, who earned 89 caps for Nigeria and represented the country at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, admitted the latest failure was extremely difficult to accept. According to the former Chelsea midfielder, a country with Nigeria’s population and football pedigree should always be present on the biggest stage.

“It’s a hammer blow,” Mikel said. “When you have a country as big as we do, over 300 million people, the biggest country in Africa, and we’re not going to the World Cup for the second time in a row.”

The former captain insisted that the responsibility for the repeated failures lies with the leadership of the Nigerian Football Federation.

Mikel argued that those running the federation must step aside to allow new leadership to rebuild Nigerian football. In particular, he pointed to NFF president Ibrahim Musa Gusau and other administrators, stating that accountability was necessary after the disappointing outcome.

“I’ve said it so many times that the FA, the people that are running the FA, they should all resign,” Mikel stated. “They have to resign because it’s the second time it’s happened.”

He also warned that while other African nations are making significant progress, Nigeria risks falling behind if urgent reforms are not made.

Using Morocco national football team as an example, Mikel praised the country’s development in football, saying Nigeria should be setting the standard on the continent rather than struggling to keep up.