With the 2026 FIFA World Cup set to kick off on Thursday, June 11, the frustration of the Super Eagles missing the big party is telling on many football-loving Nigerians.

Former Green Eagles winger, Adegoke Adelabu, is of the view that the Federal Government is not handling issues concerning the nation’s football the way it should have.

“I think the government is in complete negligence of the issues of sport at this time,” Adelabu told The Guardian.

“It may look as if the NFF officials are getting away with their failures, but sooner or later nemesis will catch up with them. They will surely give account of their stewardship.”

Adelabu, who played club football with IICC Shooting Stars of Ibadan, said that the Super Eagles missing two consecutive FIFA World Cup despite Africa having 10 slots ‘was a big embarrassment’ for the government and people of Nigeria.

“There is not much we can say, because we are still in the same place of trying to buy progress at whatever cost to remain relevant. But we have come to the point that actually reflects our lack of foresight and lack of professional competence to run advanced football industry either for the purposes of development or recreational tendency.

Speaking further, Adelabu, a sports scientist, said: “We know it will surely come to this point because of the incompetence of the officials and lack of domestic grooming of the players with respect to our national policy on sport development.”

According to the former Manager of Eko United FC, otherwise known as Asiwaju Babes, nobody is overseeing the activities of the NFF. “That is why there is lack of implementation of the principle of check and balance, which has reduced the whole exercise of Nigerian football to futility. I am sure if our government had taken action after the NFF when  failed to qualify for Qatar 2022, this failure in 2026 would have been avoided. Now, the NFF top officials feel no one can do them anything. It’s bad for our nation,” Adelabu added.

For some other stakeholders, football is deeply embedded in Nigerian culture, and the Super Eagles serve as a unifying force in a country often divided by ethnic and political differences.

To them, the passion and enthusiasm surrounding the national team reach its peak during major tournaments, particularly at the senior FIFA World Cup.

The impact of Nigeria missing out at Qatar 2022 World Cup was felt, but not as much as Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the 2026 edition to be co-hosted by USA, Canada and Mexico.

For stakeholders, the Super Eagles missing the 2026 World Cup party, a second time in a row, has not only deprived them the joy, but the pride and collective excitement that come with supporting their team on the global stage.

Beyond the emotional and sporting impact, there are significant economic consequences of missing the World Cup, as sponsorships, advertisements, and merchandising, which normally thrive when Nigeria participates in the World Cup, have disappeared.

More worrisome is the fact that established stars like Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Alex Iwobi, amongst others, would also miss a chance to enhance their global reputation and increase their market value.

Among players in the present generation of Super Eagles players, only three, Wilfred Ndidi, Francis Uzoho and Alex Iwobi have featured at the senior FIFA World Cup.

In practical terms, Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup immediately shut the door on a guaranteed $10.5 million (about N15.5 billion) money that would have been deposited in NFF account, which represents nearly 87 per cent of the federation’s budget, crippling potential investment in grassroots football, youth tournaments, and domestic league infrastructure.