Dalung: Inept football managers stifling Nigeria’s football development
27 March 2025 |
3:01 am
Former Minister of Youths and Sports Development Solomon Dalung stirred controversy yesterday when he claimed that football died in Nigeria when he left office. He also lamented the poor state of Nigerian football, which has seen the Super Eagles almost out of contention for a place at the 2026 World Cup.
Former Minister of Youths and Sports Development Solomon Dalung stirred controversy yesterday when he claimed that football died in Nigeria when he left office. He also lamented the poor state of Nigerian football, which has seen the Super Eagles almost out of contention for a place at the 2026 World Cup.
Dalung said that inept administrators have suffocated the game to the extent that Nigeria can no longer beat teams regarded as minnows in African football.
Speaking at the Emir of Ilorin’s Palace, Kwara State, where he joined many chieftains of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on a courtesy visit, Dalung regretted that since he left office six years ago, the nation’s football team has continued to nosedive.
He said that the Super Eagles’ World Cup qualification bid has continued to discourage desired support from fans and supporters, adding: “Since I left office six years ago, Nigeria has been fumbling in the race to qualify for the World Cup.
“The last time Nigeria qualified was in 2018 and we qualified in a historical manner with a match to spare… since then, Nigeria has not been able to make it to the World Cup.”
Ruling out the possibility of the team restoring its image soon, Dalung said: “From the way the current campaign is going on, after the match against Rwanda, I had hoped that Nigeria would re-launch itself and move onwards on the table but the last match against Zimbabwe has dashed Super Eagles’ hope of flying Nigeria’s flag at the next World Cup.” He identified the lack of committed leadership in the sector as a major factor hindering the growth of football and general sports in the country.
“You see, as a sports minister, you have to redefine what you intend to achieve. What has been responsible for all these things is, we don’t have a determined leadership to lead us in the right direction.
“What has contributed to this is that we have so many policy summersaults and changes of leadership. Before now, there was a Ministry of Sports but it has now been disbanded and handed over to the National Sports Commission (NSC), which is more a technical organ of sports. So, the political will to drive sports is not there. Who is sitting at the Federal Executive Council to drive the sports policy?
“The void created by the abolition of the Ministry of Sports is one of the major factors contributing to the current situation. Even if we have the best coach in the world, he needs a political will to inspire the players, mobilise Nigerians and drag us to victory; that is missing.”
“Regrettably, our hope has been dashed because the draw with Zimbabwe has brought us back to where we were,” he explained.
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