World Cup without Nigeria

AS football’s biggest fiesta, the FIFA World Cup, gets underway in Qatar on Sunday, Nigerians will be ruing the country’s missed opportunity to feature at the mundial. Parading players like Victor Osimhen and Wilfred Ndidi who were  doing extremely well at their various clubs in Europe, the Super Eagles, up against the Black Stars of Ghana, blew away their chances in March. They allowed their West African rivals to qualify for Qatar on the away-goal rule with a 1-1 draw in Abuja after a goalless draw in Ghana. To be sure, a number of players of Nigerian descent, including The Three Lions’ Bukayo Saka, Noah Okafor and Manuel Akanji of Switzerland; German machine’s Karim Adeyemi and Jamal Musiala, and Ike Ugbo and Samuel Adekugbe of Canada, will be at the mundial, but they will be representing other countries. Now, Nigerians will have to watch the quadrennial global showpiece without much emotional involvement, and that’s sad.

If the three-time AFCON winners and one of the world’s most entertaining teams are not at Qatar 2022, it is because of the typical Nigerian factors. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) failed to put its house in order and the Eagles, lacking cohesion and a sense of purpose, failed to fly when it mattered most. The  team wobbled through the qualifiers, losing at home to the Central African Republic and being forced to a draw at home by Cape Verde. After the sacking of the German tactician Gernet Rohr, the NFF could have opted for a local coach but it did not: it went for the current Eagles coach Jose Peseiro, but then it drafted in former Eagles defender and coach, Austin Eguavoen, to take charge of the team in an interim capacity. Peseiro cried foul, but the NFF did not budge. And then he was asked to take charge after the Eagles failed to fly past Ghana.

Instructively, Rohr has blamed Amaju Pinnick, the NFF’s immediate past president, for the team’s Qatar miss. Rohr said: “Pinnick said my dismissal would avert a disaster but in the end he created the disaster that cost Nigeria the ticket to the World Cup. I regret that I did not take my team to the World Cup, I regret that my players will not be at the World Cup even though they deserve to be there. It was not my decision; it was a decision by Pinnick and his board. He was punished for this as Nigeria lost the chance to win the AFCON and did not qualify for the World Cup.” The message, really, is that the NFF should learn from the failure and put things right. A country with Nigeria’s footballing pedigree should not be missing out on the global big stage.

Nigeria’s absence at the World Cup is without doubt a big loss to FIFA because of the Eagles’ commercial value. The soccer regulatory body makes a lot of money from TV rights and if Nigeria had qualified for the World Cup, it would have raked in money as millions stay glued to their TVs, watching the games on Super Sports and other channels. As it is, Nigerians will indeed watch the games, but the feeling and atmosphere won’t be the same. Besides, the Nigeria Football Supporters Club is known for its glamour, and part of the joy of every World Cup or indeed every major tournament is  its carnival-like atmosphere of singing, drumming and dancing. FIFA typically calls supporters’ club “jolly green fellows”. Had the Eagles qualified for the showpiece,  there would have been livelier World Cup promos, and great activities at sports viewing centres.

On a happy note, though, some Nigerian artistes will feature at the event. Pop star David Adeleke (Davido) was featured on the official World Cup soundtrack alongside American star Trinidad Cardona and Qatari sensation Aisha. The music sensation, Patrick Nnaemeka Okorie (Patoranking), is among the artistes that will entertain fans in Qatar. He will mount the stage on November 28, performing together with artistes such as DJ Aseel, Gims, Miami Band, Julian Marley and The Uprising, Myrath, Hassan Shakosh, and Clean Bandit. The Buga crooner, Kizz Daniel, will also perform together with international music sensations.

Nigeria’s absence at Qatar 2022 calls for sober reflection, but so does its history of performance at the World Cup. Apart from the Eagles’ maiden appearance at the tournament (USA 94), Nigeria has hardly had a decent performance at the showpiece. The NFF and football stakeholders, therefore, have a bounden duty to ensure that the Eagles not only represent Africa at the next World Cup but also represent the continent phenomenally. This is a tough call, but it is both desirable and achievable.