Total Overhaul Required: Mikel Obi Calls for Complete Replacement of NFF Board Following World Cup Setback

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Mikel

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By Emmanuel Okogba

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Former Nigeria captain, Mikel Obi has described Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the ongoing World Cup as a ‘hammer blow’.

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Speaking on the Obi One Podcast, Mikel said, “I feel for the people of my country. I feel for my people in Nigeria because they are going to be devastated right now. I just feel the entire board of the NFF needs to go. Twice in a row we failed to qualify. It means something is wrong. A drastic change has to be carried out.”

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He continued his lamentation, “We are the biggest footballing nation in Africa and failing to qualify is an indication that something is wrong and that requires drastic action.”

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Mikel who represented Nigeria at two World Cup tournaments (2014 and 2018) has been very vocal about his desire to see the football body overhauled.

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Before the consecutive failure to qualify, Nigeria has only missed out on one edition since its debut appearance in 1994 – that of 2006 that was held in Germany.

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Asiding the pain of missing out felt by football loving Nigerians, financial benefits that would have improved football development have also been lost.

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Vanguard reports that Nigeria would have earned $12.5 million dollars for qualification alone, and stood to earn more if they had progressed deep into the competition.

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