Former Super Eagles captain, Segun Odegbami, has called for the suspension of the Nigeria Football Federation’s 2026 elective congress, saying the country’s football administration needs urgent restructuring.
The Punch reported that Odegbami made the call ahead of the NFF Executive Committee elections scheduled to hold on September 27 in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
The election date was moved from September 26 to September 27 to accommodate the Super Eagles’ 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixture against Madagascar.
According to the former Green Eagles skipper, the problems confronting Nigerian football administration have persisted for several decades and have become deeply rooted in the system.
“The reality is that football administration in the past two decades, in particular, has not matched or complemented the level of talent and possible achievements,” Odegbami said.
He traced some of the challenges to decisions taken in the early 1990s, arguing that the mistakes have gradually developed into an entrenched administrative structure that is now difficult to overhaul.
“The growth of our football industry has been stunted by faulty decisions taken more in ignorance than by any malicious intentions since the early part of the 1990s,” he said.
“These have grown, sustained and become the norm in our football, a monster that now needs the creators of it to rid it of its venom. They won’t do it because they are also the beneficiaries of the faulty architecture.”
Odegbami also questioned the credibility of the NFF’s electoral process, describing the elections as a recurring source of tension and controversy within the football administration.
“Elections into the board of the NFF have become a four-yearly ritual of crisis,” he said.
The former international said the failures in football administration had also deprived the country of the opportunity to fully harness the sport as a vehicle for economic development and youth empowerment.
He lamented that despite Nigerians’ passion for football and the abundance of talent across the country, the sport had continued to fall short of its potential.
“All of these to the detriment of the country that loves its football with passion but can only look on helplessly as football continues to fail to achieve its full potential, fails to boost the country’s economy, and fails to empower the country’s gifted youths with the best opportunities that are available all over the world,” he said.
Odegbami therefore urged stakeholders to pause the electoral process and use the opportunity to critically examine the structure and administration of Nigerian football.
“I hope all Nigerians, including the members of the Nigerian Football Association, will understand why these elections should be temporarily halted for Nigerian football to find its feet again,” he said.
