Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, blaming their disregard for the structures and development of football schools

[ad_1]

The Nigeria men’s national football team is absent from this year’s World Cup in Qatar. It is only the second time since first appearing in the tournament in 1994 that the Super Eagles have failed to qualify. FIFA sports scientist and fitness instructor Isiaka Oladele Oladipo explains why the team missed out and what they need to do to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

Why didn’t Nigeria qualify for the 2022 World Cup?

It was not a one-day failure. It started a while before we played the last qualifying game with Ghana.

When we drew 0-0 in the first leg in Ghana, we knew we had to win in Nigeria. But we lost and with the away goals rules we lost. We didn’t take the away goal rules very seriously. We need to learn more about these rules. If the players are not aware of these kinds of rules, Nigeria should forget about qualifying for the World Cups.

Nigeria recently adopted a new National Sports Industrial Policy. There is a chapter on sport and education, which will help players and coaches get to know the rules better.

Broader education is also a problem. There is not enough emphasis on school sports. Some parents scold their children for playing sports, saying it distracts them from their schooling. And many schools, even the most renowned in the country, do not have good sports arenas.

If we don’t have an environment conducive to play and exercise for children, the future will not be rosy for our football. For a new player to participate in the World Cup, he must have established a minimum of 10 years of practice. This is also true for the Olympic Games: it takes 10 years of training to win a medal. Some current World Cup players are 19; this means that they have been playing football in supportive environments since the age of nine. These are the things we need to think about.

There are also no Nigerian referees at the World Cup. Why is this so?

This is a huge question and it’s not new. No Nigerian referee has officiated at the World Cup. In 2014, Peter Egan Edibi was shortlisted for the World Cup in Brazil as an assistant referee, but did not make the final list.

At this World Cup, there are six referees, 10 assistant referees and two video assistant referees from Africa, but no Nigerians. I studied this question in my doctorate in 2000. I found that sports managers in Nigeria think they can play politics to get a place in such appointments. They do not believe in the scientific preparation of referees to achieve such status.

These questions are still relevant today.

During my time as a referee, we were inspired by two great FIFA referees, Linus Mba and Bolaji Okubule. In 1983, Okubule became the first Nigerian referee at a FIFA tournament when he was selected for the FIFA Youth Championship (now FIFA U-20 World Cup) in Mexico. We saw the way they moved on the pitch and it instilled in us a passion for refereeing football. But nowadays we have referees who are attracted by money or simply to enter the pitch or the stadium for free.

As a FIFA Fitness Instructor, I have come across dispassionate referees and it shows in their low level of concentration. Football is a dynamic game whose rules change every day. When our referees do not respect these rules, it is difficult to select them. And the less time you spend on international stages, the less likely you are to be identified for future tournaments.

We need to prepare our referees very well and development programs at different age levels need to be established for such roles. Modern materials, equipment and facilities must also be in place. We are behind in these areas.

What are the implications of Nigeria’s absence?

Many business owners in Qatar have planned for Nigerian fans during the World Cup. I have been to Qatar in the past and worked a bit at one of their best stadiums, the Aspire Dome, and many are disappointed that we are not there. So we lost opportunities to showcase our culture there. I know that many travel agents also offered travel packages for fans to travel to Qatar. These business opportunities were also lost.

We have also dropped in the FIFA rankings and that might affect us in the next matches as we might have some tough matches. We are also missing out on the money countries will receive at the World Cup and our football will feel that. Even for those of us in academia, many of us plan to undertake research regarding this competition, but since we are not there as a country, it is a setback in the way we conduct this research.

What must Nigeria do to qualify for the 2026 World Cup hosted by Canada, Mexico and USA?

To get to the World Cup, you have to train regularly for at least 10 years. It means that we should prepare for the World Cup which is coming in 10 years.

Let’s identify the areas where we have problems and address them. Let’s see how our new sports policy can help us achieve this goal. Let’s have a development program at each level. Let us focus more on the development of research centers in our universities, especially on the development of sports.

It is unfortunate that some constituencies like school sports have been dropped from the composition of the Nigerian Football Federation. The Nigerian School Sports Federation manages sports in primary and post-primary schools in the country. They are no longer part of the football federation.

Nigerian football structures need to establish links with schools, from primary to secondary education and tertiary institutions, and put in place diverse support. This will help the country develop good players and smart coaches.

[ad_2]