Mikel Obi Urges NFF Leadership To Resign After Nigeria’s World Cup Failure

Former Super Eagles captain John Obi Mikel has called on the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to step down after Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Nigeria’s absence from the global tournament, which will be staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer, has sparked fresh criticism of the country’s football administration. Mikel Obi described the setback as a damaging moment for a nation with such a vast football following.

Speaking on talkSPORT, the former Chelsea midfielder did not hold back in his assessment of the situation.

He said, “It is a hammer blow and I have said it so many times that when you have a country as big as we do, over 300 million people, the biggest country in Africa and we are not going to the World Cup (for a) second time in a row, the FA, the people that are running the FA, should all resign.

“We have one of the best teams in Africa, and we are not going to be at the World Cup. It’s a disaster. It’s a disaster.”

Nigeria last appeared at the World Cup in 2018 and the prospect of missing back-to-back tournaments has left many supporters frustrated.

Naija News reports that the Super Eagles still have a faint chance of making it to the tournament. The NFF has lodged a petition with FIFA accusing the Democratic Republic of the Congo of fielding ineligible players during the 2025 African playoff final.

Football’s world governing body is expected to deliver a ruling before the inter-continental playoff later this month in Mexico. Should the petition succeed, Nigeria could yet find a route back into contention.