Minister Demands Swift Action Towards Fixing World Cup Qualification Challenges

Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh has demanded that the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) urgently put in place the necessary framework to ensure Nigeria qualifies for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, in addition to addressing issues that have hindered high performances and growth of Nigerian football.

The meeting held on Thursday at the Minister’s office in Abuja touched on various areas including the current coach of the national team, the competence of both the NFF Technical Committee and Technical Department, discipline of players in the national team camp.

In a statement from Diana-Mary Nsan, Special Assistant, Media, the Minister and the NFF also deliberated on the introduction of the new crop of Nigerian players wherever they can be found, to ensure the best legs represent the country at every given time.

Furthermore, the meeting delved into other more substantive matters said to be holding down our football development, including the expansion of the present membership of the NFF Congress, to make for more inclusive and greater representation.

The team of NFF officials and its technical team were given not more than one week to present its comprehensive position indicating the positive progressive steps that have been taken to get the team ready for the next round of competitive matches.

Expressing the disappointment of Nigerians and the Government over the poor results in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Senator Enoh highlighted the country is in a critical situation being placed second from bottom, with just three points from four games out of a possible twelve; a situation he considered outrightly unacceptable.