Mikel Obi Calls Nigeria's World Cup Failures Shameful

Former Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi described Nigeria's consecutive failures to qualify for the FIFA World Cup as shameful and unacceptable. The Super Eagles missed out on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the 2026 tournament co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

This back-to-back failure has led to widespread criticism of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) board, led by President Ibrahim Gusau, with calls for their resignation. Mikel highlighted that the decline in Nigerian football also affects youth and women's teams, noting the Super Falcons' failure to qualify for the 2027 World Cup and the Flying Eagles' loss to Burkina Faso in the WAFU-B U-20 final, which ended their hopes for the 2027 U-20 AFCON and the global tournament.

In an interview with a Ghanaian television station, Mikel placed the blame on the NFF leadership and called for an immediate overhaul, stating, “The entire board has to go if we want to grow our football.” He expressed concern over the potential for a third consecutive World Cup absence and indicated he is considering running for the NFF presidency at the right time.