The Problem With Nigerian Football

Reuben Abati opens with a contrast he finds painful: Nigerians remain deeply invested in European football leagues while Nigeria’s own football establishment appears to be collapsing into chaos. For him, the country’s “House of Football” has become a shadow of what it once was.

That decline stands against a long national tradition. Football once united Nigerians across ethnicity, geography and religion. The country’s record includes Africa Cup of Nations and Olympic achievements, the Green Eagles’ victory at the 1973 All Africa Games, the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations title, the 1994 World Cup debut, the Golden Eaglets’ under-17 triumph in China, the 1989 “Damman Miracle” by the Flying Eagles and the 1996 Olympic victory in Atlanta.

Abati also emphasizes the history of women’s football. Nigerian women played the sport from the 1930s, while competitive football gained ground in 1979 through clubs including the Jegede Babes and Ufuoma Babes. The Super Falcons formed in 1990 and appeared at the first FIFA Women’s World Cup in 1991. They have won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 10 times in 15 editions.

The article links Nigeria’s football prominence to the growth of professional football in Europe. Early Nigerian players who joined European clubs showed families that football could offer a future, encouraging more children to develop their talent. School competitions, especially the Principal’s Cup, then created a broad base of players. In Lagos during the 1970s, schools such as St. Finbarr’s College, St. Gregory’s College, Igbobi College and CMS Grammar School became important football centers.

Players including Stephen Keshi, Henry Nwosu, Samson Siasia, Nduka Ugbade and Adokiye Amiesimaka emerged from that system. Abati’s central concern is that the commercial success built on this foundation now coexists with a football structure he portrays as disorderly and diminished.