Nigeria appears to have reached a point where we must stop asking only “What is wrong with Nigerian football?” and begin asking the more fundamental question: “Who is responsible for what, and where does that responsibility begin and end?”

I am not entirely sure how sports commissions operate in other developed football nations, or whether the Nigerian model has a true equivalent elsewhere. But Nigeria seems to have created an arrangement in which the government’s sports authority and the football federation increasingly operate in a space where responsibilities can overlap, collide and sometimes become blurred.

And when responsibilities become blurred, accountability becomes blurred too.

The consequences are now staring us in the face.

Our national teams — men and women — have suffered a succession of disappointing results. The Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while other national teams have continued to struggle for consistency and direction. Yet, remarkably, the football establishment is preparing for another election cycle as though the most pressing issue is who occupies the next set of offices rather than how to rescue Nigerian football from its present condition.

Is the NSC Becoming Too Much of a Football Operator?

The National Sports Commission is the apex government sports institution and its stated responsibility includes the formulation, implementation and monitoring of policies and programmes for sports development. (LinkedIn⁠)

That is a legitimate and important mandate.

But the question Nigerians should be asking is whether the Commission is increasingly moving from policy supervision and strategic oversight into operational areas that should ordinarily belong to the respective federations.

Recent developments make that question unavoidable.

The NSC and NFF have been holding high-level meetings on the Super Eagles, coaching arrangements, player motivation, the domestic league and the future direction of Nigerian football. In June 2026, the NSC announced a strategic course with the NFF towards the 2030 World Cup, while the renewed arrangement for Eric Chelle included improved remuneration and expanded responsibilities. (Sports247 Nigeria⁠)

There is nothing inherently wrong with government providing strategic support.

The problem begins when support becomes substitution.

If the Commission pays players directly, determines or influences coaching arrangements, intervenes in federation operations and becomes deeply involved in football’s day-to-day administration, where exactly does the NFF’s autonomy begin?

And if the NFF remains responsible for football, why should it not also be fully accountable for its decisions and failures?

The Dangerous Middle Ground

Nigeria may be creating a dangerous middle ground in which the NSC is sufficiently involved to influence decisions but the NFF remains sufficiently independent to avoid carrying the full responsibility when those decisions fail.

That is not a sustainable governance model.

The government should certainly fund, regulate, facilitate and provide national sports policy. It should also demand accountability for public money.

But the football federation must be allowed — and compelled — to function as a professional football governing body.

Otherwise, we create a situation where everyone has authority but nobody has complete accountability.

That is how institutions deteriorate.

Bonuses Are Not Football Development

There is also a tendency to equate motivation with money.

Paying bonuses to players is good when earned and properly administered. Athletes deserve their entitlements. Indeed, Nigeria has had embarrassing episodes involving unpaid allowances and bonuses, including players protesting outstanding payments. (The Guardian Nigeria⁠)

But bonuses cannot replace football development.

You cannot build a football culture by throwing money at national teams every time a major tournament approaches.

The real investment must be in:

  • grassroots football;
  • quality coaching education;
  • scouting;
  • youth development;
  • football academies;
  • sports science;
  • medical and rehabilitation systems;
  • data and performance analysis;
  • quality domestic competitions;
  • properly maintained pitches;
  • competent refereeing;
  • women’s football;
  • school football; and
  • a strong technical development structure.

Nigeria needs a football production line, not a tournament emergency fund.

And Then There Is the NFF

The NFF cannot escape responsibility by pointing at the NSC.

It is the country’s football governing body and therefore must own the quality of its technical, administrative and developmental systems.

One of the greatest concerns is the perception that the NFF’s technical machinery has not produced the level of technical excellence expected from a country with Nigeria’s football history and talent pool.

A technical department must be technical.

It cannot become a resting place for cronies, political associates, opportunists or people whose primary qualification is proximity to power.

Appointments must be based on competence, experience, measurable performance and football knowledge.

Nigeria has enough former internationals, qualified coaches, analysts, administrators, sports scientists and football professionals to build a serious technical structure.

What is missing is not human capacity alone.

It is institutional discipline.

The Election Is Not the Solution

And this brings us to the forthcoming elections.

An election, by itself, will not rescue Nigerian football.

Changing the names on the board while leaving the architecture untouched simply changes the occupants of the same troubled house.

The question should therefore not be:

“Who is contesting?”

It should be:

“What football system are they offering Nigeria?”

Every candidate should be required to present a measurable four-year football development plan covering national teams, the NPFL, youth development, women’s football, coaching, refereeing, infrastructure, commercialisation, player welfare and technical development.

No more manifestos filled with beautiful language and little measurable substance.

What Should Be Done?

I would suggest a clearer division of responsibility.

First — Government/NSC:
Set national sports policy, provide funding frameworks, establish infrastructure standards, monitor public expenditure and ensure compliance with national and international obligations.

Second — NFF:
Run football. Select coaches through transparent professional processes. Manage competitions. Develop technical structures. Scout and develop talent. Manage national teams. Build commercial partnerships. Account for its finances and performance.

Third — Independent Technical Council:
Nigeria needs a genuinely professional technical body populated by experienced football technicians, coaches, analysts, former internationals and development specialists — not political appointees.

Fourth — Performance contracts:
Every national-team coach and senior technical official should have clear targets, deliverables and review periods.

Fifth — Youth development:
The U-15, U-17, U-20 and U-23 pathways must become a continuous development system rather than tournament-by-tournament projects.

Sixth — Domestic football:
The NPFL must become a serious professional product. Good stadiums, quality pitches, competent referees, transparent finances, television visibility, youth pathways and commercially viable clubs are essential.

Seventh — Accountability:
The NSC and NFF should publish annual football performance and financial reports. Nigerians should know what was spent, what was achieved and why targets were missed.

Nigeria Does Not Lack Football Talent

This is perhaps the most frustrating part of the Nigerian story.

We have players.

We have coaches.

We have a huge football culture.

We have passionate supporters.

We have a massive talent pool at home and abroad.

What we continue to lack is a stable, professional and accountable football architecture capable of converting those resources into sustained success.

The recent NSC-NFF strategic engagement towards 2030 shows that the government recognises the need for a longer-term approach. (Sports247 Nigeria⁠)

But 2030 cannot become another slogan.

If Nigeria is serious about returning to the top of African football and competing consistently on the world stage, the reset must begin now, not when World Cup qualification arrives.

Finally

The house of Nigerian football may indeed be on fire.

But the answer is not to fight over who gets the keys to the house.

First, put out the fire.

Then rebuild the house.

Let the NSC be a strong policy, funding and oversight institution.

Let the NFF be a strong, professional and accountable football federation.

Let technical competence replace patronage.

Let development replace emergency intervention.

Let measurable performance replace excuses.

And let elections become a mechanism for choosing the best football administrators — not an end in themselves.

Nigeria’s football problem is bigger than one man, one board or one election.

It is an architectural problem.

And architectural problems require architectural solutions.

Obanoyen sent this piece from Atlanta, Georgia, USA and can be reached on [email protected]