Nigerian football enduring 'worst time in history' - Odegbami

As Nigeria begin their 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifying campaign, former international Segun Odegbami, who won the tournament on home soil in 1980, says the country is experiencing the "worst time" in its football history.

Over the past 12 months both the Super Eagles and Super Falcons failed to qualify for their respective Fifa World Cups.

But beyond the failure of the senior national teams, Nigeria has also endured disappointing results at age-group level and in African club competitions - although the West Africans recently reached the quarter-finals of the Under-20 Women's World Cup.

Odegbami says the diminishing returns represent a "tectonic shift" for one of the continent's traditional powers.

"It has never been this bad in our entire history that we didn't qualify for the World Cup," the 74-year-old told BBC Sport Africa.

"Our girls (the Super Falcons), who were African champions, failed to win a competition (the 2025 Women's Afcon) that was just there for their taking. All our junior teams are not doing well.

"Our local league is not bringing in money. Something is definitely wrong."

The crisis has already triggered major changes within the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

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