A nation’s dashed hopes, by Patrick Omorodion

Right from the days of old, people express rage when things that should be smooth go awry. Especially when they know that efforts have been made to see good results.

Notable instance of people expressing rage include Moses who God sent on an errand to deliver the tablet containing the Ten Commandments to the people of Israel. He was furious because he was away for only few moments when compared to the number of days they journeyed in the wilderness after Pharaoh let them leave Egypt and they had built a golden calf to worship instead of God who delivered them from the hands of Pharaoh.

The story is told in the Book of Exodus in chapter 32. So it is right now among Nigerians, mostly football loving ones. They are feeling the pains of their darling team, the Super Eagles, missing out on another celebration of football, regarded as the king of sports when 48 countries gather, for the first time, in three countries, United States, Canada and Mexico next year. They were equally aghast when their Super Eagles missed the opportunity to participate in the first World Cup played in the Middle East, Qatar precisely in 2022, outside the normal summer period of June to July.

The rage was fierce last time because the ticket was snatched by Ghana right under their noses at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja. The Super Eagles went to the fortress of the Black Stars in Accra and pulled a respectable barren draw. So fans thronged the Abuja arena expecting a win, no matter how small the margin is, for the country’s name to be registered as one of the participants in Qatar 2022. It was not to be as the visitors snatched the ticket with a vital 1-1 draw which ensured they qualified on the away goals rules.

The rage from fans was enormous as they pounced on the stadium, destroying anything they could lay their hands on in anger.

So when the draws for the 2026 edition were made on July 13, 2023, three clear years to the event, Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief that the Super Eagles were handed a soft draw. As the country was grouped with South Africa, Rwanda, Benin Republic, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, they believed that qualification shouldn’t be a problem. Apart from being the most experienced at World Cup level, the Super Eagles are the highest ranked by FIFA standards. As at the last ranking, Nigeria’s football is ranked 44 in the world and South Africa is ranked 56. Benin Republic is ranked 96, Zimbabwe 116, Rwanda 127 and Lesotho 148.

This is why Nigerian fans were expectant. But they were mistaken. They never took into consideration the activities of other stake- holders like the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF Board whose duty was getting everything in place to ensure the team’s success, nor consider the ability of whoever the coach may be in selecting the right set of players and blending them into a formidable squad. They also did not take into consideration the attitude of the players who would be selected to go into the battle, not only for the country, but their individual pride and marketability.

Starting from the NFF, how good did they play their roles? How early did they get a coach for the team and what quality of coach? Gernot Rohr was given a very long time to tinker with the team and make them formidable but he struggled with the team all through. Nigerians cried out but the NFF said he was winning matches and qualifying for competitions.

When he lost ingloriously to Algeria in the semi finals of the 2019 AFCON in Egypt, they felt he was no longer good for the Super Eagles and shoved him aside. His place was given temporarily to Austin Eguavoen, always available for rescue missions.

Eguavoen raised the hope of his country men in the group stage of the 2021 AFCON (held in 2022) in Cameroon but crashed it suddenly in the round of 16 against Tunisia. But because the World Cup qualifiers were around the corner, Eguavoen was allowed to continue as the interim coach, with an understanding that if they qualified, a foreigner would be hired as usual. Like they did to late Shaibu Amodu for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The loss of the 2022 World Cup ticket to Ghana forced the NFF to hire another foreign coach hurriedly, a Portuguese, Jose Peseiro. Peseiro, like Rohr, didn’t inspire any hope. Like Rohr, his team struggled to grind out results. But the signs were there that the team were going to crumble soon. From a wobbly group stage, they got to the final of the 2023 AFCON and lost to the host, Cote d’Ivoire.

That ended his stint as his quest for increased pay was rebuffed by the NFF. Finidi George took his place. The damage was already done and Finidi continued with the slide. He didn’t wait to get the boot, he quit on his own. Eguavoen came back briefly but left for Eric Chelle to try his luck. Isn’t it ridiculous that the NFF has used four coaches in three years to prosecute the World Cup qualifiers against teams made up of mostly home-based players and yet couldn’t pick an automatic ticket from the nine available for the African continent? That is the reason for the rage among Nigerians.

With automatic ticket almost impossible to get now, even the play-off route will be as tough, if not tougher.

To qualify for the play-off, the Super Eagles must be among the best four losers.

After picking the African ticket, they will still play an inter-confederation qualifier with six teams battling for two slots. So it is a long walk after failing in the easier African qualifier.

The first expression of rage came from a former skipper and coach of the Super Eagles, Sunday Oliseh. He said if the Super Eagles fail to qualify for the World Cup, the NFF should be sacked. Another former captain of the team, Mikel Obi has joined in the call for a sweeping change in the NFF for the same reason. A colleague in Vanguard, Ayo Francis is in shock.

His rage is, “how come Nigeria cannot be among the best nine countries to represent Africa at the World Cup”. It’s hard to believe. Former Green Eagles winger and lawyer, Adokiye Amiesimaka has blamed the slide in the fortune of the country’s football on corruption. The rage will continue because millions of Nigerians have had their hopes for a World Cup berth dashed a second consecutive time.

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