Technical Malnutrition, crux of Nigeria Football Kwashiorkor

 

By Chimaobi Jose Nzoromobi 

Nigeria’s football reputation — once feared across Africa and respected globally — is now in unmistakable decline. The signs are everywhere: from repeated failures to qualify for major tournaments to the absence of a clear identity in how the national teams play. At the centre of this crisis is the nation’s technical direction, a pillar no serious football country treats lightly.

Yet Nigeria has attempted to build success on a shaky foundation.

Austin Eguavoen, the long-serving figure who has operated within the national teams structure for 24 years, currently serves as the Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). His name has become inseparable from virtually every national team setup: Golden Eaglets, Flying Eagles, Dream Team, and the Super Eagles — a team he has coached four different times. Today, he oversees the entire technical strategy of Nigerian football, from youth development to coaching programmes and national team performance.

But the results tell a disturbing story.

Under Eguavoen’s technical leadership, Nigeria has missed successive FIFA World Cup appearances, failed to qualify for consecutive U-17 World Cups — once our strongest age-grade category — and has stumbled in nearly every competition across all levels. The country’s football graph is not just flattening; it is plunging. The continuity of failure raises an uncomfortable but unavoidable question: why does Nigeria continue to recycle the same ideas, the same methods, and the same individuals while expecting new outcomes?

Football nations that succeed do so by insisting on competence, structure, and innovation. Nigeria, by contrast, often leans on nostalgia and familiarity. Meanwhile, world-class Nigerian professionals with proven track records in top global institutions are left outside the conversation.

Michael Emenalo, one of the most successful Directors of Football in modern club football, built competitive squads at Chelsea and now oversees Saudi Arabia’s ambitious football project. Seyi Olofinjana, a respected football administrator, serves as Chelsea’s Chief Scout for Africa. These are Nigerians who have learned, worked, and succeeded in tightly organised systems — the very systems Nigeria desperately needs.

Their expertise is not a luxury; it is an urgent necessity.

If Nigeria is serious about restoring its football pride, it must end the cycle of repeating old mistakes. It must consult those with global experience, build real structures, commit to long-term planning, and professionalise every layer of its football ecosystem. Anything less is a continuation of the slow, painful erosion of our once-great footballing identity — a decline that is now too glaring to ignore.