Football Nigeria -- Eagles Etcetera

Though it has become usual to associate administrative problems to Nigeria's failures to reach the finals of the Cup for African Nations (CAN), it is time to acknowledge other factors. Of course, this does not dismiss the importance of administrative bungling in the team's failures. Surely, there is no denying that such bungling was responsible for Nigeria's failure to reach the finals under Stephen Keshi in 2015. In that instance, Keshi and NFF battle for power was evident all through the qualifiers. However, below we show that the use of a single coach throughout the qualifiers compared to use of multiple coaches may provide another clue to the failures. The data below are best understood by breaking Nigeria's international football performance into two separate periods. These periods are delineated by the start of national league play in Nigeria in 1972, which improved the fitness of players invited to the national team and raised performance of the national team...

Predictably, the Western media have criticized the recent announcement that the 2026 World Cup would go to 48 teams. Why not? The chance that Asia and Africa will gain more teams is certainly unappealing in the West. Of course, the predictable reasons have resurrected. They are (a) the new structure will dilute the World Cup, (b) there will be too many games, and (c) No one will be watching some of the games.    One has to be reminded that the West does not make up the world, there are other parts of the world deserving of having a say at the table if the World Cup is to be a truly world event. But let us examine those media complaints. The World Cup certainly will be exciting for all the reasons that it has always been – the hope that David may triumph over Goliath as was the case in 1990 when Cameroon triumphed over Argentina, or in 1966 when the Koreans upstaged Italy. Those are some of the lores of the World Cup and that will not be hurt by this expansion.  ...