Poor talent discovery, weak structures driving Nigeria’s football crisis

Nigeria’s football decline is no longer limited to poor results at the senior level, with inadequate talent discovery, weak player management and structural deficiencies increasingly undermining the country’s teams across age groups. The Super Eagles have missed two consecutive FIFA World Cups, while the Super Falcons will not feature at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Nigeria’s U17 and U20 teams have also suffered setbacks in their respective World Cup qualification campaigns. Read Also: A five-point plan to transform Nigerian football Felix Awogu, General Manager, SuperSport West Africa and a seasoned football analyst, said the crisis reflects a deeper failure to identify, develop and properly utilise the country’s football talent. In an interview with BusinessDay, Awogu argued that Nigeria continues to produce talented players but lacks an effective system for discovering and managing them from the grassroots to the senior national teams. “We don’t have the proper talent management and talent discovery in the system. And even when you have talents, do we know how to deploy them and when to deploy them? These are some of the issues,” Awogu said. He pointed to the success of other African nations as evidence that a deliberate approach to integrating young players into senior teams can produce results. “If you look at Cameroon, the female team that won the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), some of those players just came out from the under-20s. Cameroon, for years, was struggling,” he said. “Football is about energy. It’s about space. It’s about talent management. They deployed their young players alongside some experienced players, and that delivered the result. “The same thing with Malawi’s women’s team. Most of their players come from the U20s. It tells you that energy counts in modern-day football, especially with women’s football or African football as a whole. “So, it’s a price we have to pay, but we need to really do a surgical operation with our football.” Read Also: Senate summons NFF, NSC over Nigeria’s worsening football performance at World Cups Funding without structural reform Awogu’s assessment comes against the backdrop of increased government spending on sports under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. Despite the financial intervention, however, Nigeria’s football fortunes have continued to deteriorate, raising questions about whether funding is reaching the areas that can produce sustainable development. For Awogu, the problem goes beyond money and requires a fundamental restructuring of the administration of Nigerian football. “We need to structure it in such a way that we can only throw the best amongst us into the leadership of Nigerian football,” he said. He identified the NFF secretariat as the critical component of the federation that requires urgent attention. “If you don’t get the structure, the most important arm of the Nigerian Football Federation is the secretariat. Who are those running the secretariat? “If you don’t have the proper secretariat, everybody you bring as NFF president will fail, because the secretariat runs the structure. The president comes with his board once in three or four months to have meetings and lead the direction. “So, we need to look properly inward and know where the problems are coming from. I think we need to fix the secretariat. “You may want to change the NFF president or anything, but we need to fix the secretariat.” Fix football’s administrative core Awogu said the NFF must clearly define responsibility across its various departments, particularly those responsible for international football, domestic competitions, youth development and refereeing. “Who is responsible for international football? Who is managing local football? Who is managing developmental football? Who is managing referees’ associations? “If you don’t get those things right, no matter how much you put in, we’ll keep losing it. So, we need to fix the core. The core is the administration in-house in the football federation. “And if you don’t fix it, even if you bring the president to manage Nigerian football, it will fail. You just throw money, and the money will go down the drain.” Grassroots development critical Awogu also called for renewed investment in grassroots football, arguing that Nigeria’s traditional strength has been its ability to identify and develop young talent. “And again, you can’t talk less of grassroots development because that’s where it started from,” he said. He also questioned the process used to select players for the national teams, particularly where age, fitness and tactical balance are concerned. “To be honest, I think there’s a fundamental problem in the way we select players for the national team,” Awogu said. “I thought we had a technical department that would sit down and defend every position. When the Super Falcons were going, I would say, ‘The team is too old.’ The average age is about 30 years. They will struggle. “If you don’t fix those things fundamentally and have a balance, you struggle.” He called for a stronger technical department capable of providing independent analysis and holding coaches accountable for their decisions. “If you have a technical department that doesn’t know what to do, of course, we will struggle,” he said. “Augustine Eguavoenn is the head of the technical department of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). What does he think? You are calling coaches from New Zealand; the technical department should show up. “So, we can start fixing it from the core. If you don’t fix it from the core, we will struggle.” Performance must determine leadership Awogu also advocated a performance-based approach to the administration of Nigerian football, arguing that officials should be replaced when they consistently fail to deliver results. “There is no lip service. If you’re not doing well, everything should be performance-based. If you’re not delivering, you get out,” he said. “Let’s try somebody new. Even if you have to get an expert, or you have to do headhunting, go and get the best to help us grow.” He added that rebuilding Nigerian football would require collaboration between the federal government, state governments and other stakeholders. “We need the support of the federal government. We need the support of every stakeholder. We need the states to start building stadiums. “We are using only Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo for all of our matches. So, it’s a very key aspect of what we need to do. The earlier we do it, the better.” NFF election intervention On the National Sports Commission’s reported decision to put the NFF electoral congress on hold, Awogu said government involvement should be viewed within the context of its financial and institutional responsibilities to Nigerian football. The intervention has raised concerns over potential conflict with FIFA’s principle against government interference in the administration of football associations. Awogu, however, argued that government support also creates a legitimate expectation of accountability. “The government provides security and provides funding for the national teams. So, why would you say the government will not interfere if this money is going down the drain? How do you fix it?” he asked. “The truth is, you should ask yourself, who are those in government that will help fix it? If you don’t have the right people, we will still struggle.” Leadership must go beyond passion Awogu said the next NFF president must combine football administration experience with the courage to make difficult technical decisions. “That person must be a staunch football administrator with tactical know-how,” he said. While acknowledging the passion of incumbent NFF president Ibrahim Gusau, Awogu said passion alone would not be enough to transform the federation. “If you’re talking about passion, Gusau has passion. But he has to have the acumen to look at the people straight in the eyes and say, ‘Hey, we’re getting it wrong.’ “When do you interfere when we’re bringing in the wrong set of players, injured players, to the national team? When do you call the coaches to order? ‘Hey, there’s no fundamental. Nigeria is at risk. Let’s get the best legs.’ That’s it.” Beyond blaming the NFF president Awogu cautioned against making the NFF president the sole focus of criticism, arguing that successive administrations have faced similar challenges. “Otherwise, we’ll bring a leader to chair the NFF, and the secretariat remains the way it is. They will not succeed,” he said. “Then you can’t have your meeting. Who are the implementers? So, we should stop blaming Gusau. We should look at the fundamentals. Where are we getting it wrong? “Who is the CEO of the Nigerian Football Federation? Who sits down to day-to-day activities of football? Who reaches out to Rashford and every other person? It’s the secretariat. So, we need to get the secretariat up and doing. “I think we’re missing the point when we keep shouting, ‘Gusau must go.’ Amaju Pinnick came, he struggled. Gusau comes, he struggles. Everybody comes, they struggle.” For Awogu, Nigeria’s football crisis therefore requires more than a change of personalities at the top. It demands a comprehensive overhaul of talent discovery, player development, technical management, grassroots football and the NFF’s administrative structure if the country is to restore its place among Africa’s football powers. Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date Open In Whatsapp