Former Super Eagles defender Ben Iroha says Nigeria’s football setbacks across multiple levels this year have gone beyond disappointing, and the country needs to honestly confront what has gone wrong.
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Former Nigeria international Ben Iroha has voiced deep concern over the state of Nigerian football following a string of recent setbacks at national team level.
Speaking in an exclusive interview, Iroha reflected on the Flying Eagles’ failure to qualify for the CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, and by extension the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup, alongside the Super Falcons’ failure to secure a place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
“I Can’t Believe This Is Happening”
Iroha said the Super Falcons’ loss of their World Cup route was a further blow following their WAFCON quarter-final exit to Cameroon, with a subsequent play-off defeat to South Africa closing the door completely. He described the Flying Eagles’ back to back losses to Burkina Faso at such a crucial stage, and by what he called embarrassing scorelines, as similarly hard to accept.
The former defender, who won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations with the Super Eagles and later served as assistant coach of the Golden Eaglets during their 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup triumph, said it’s heartbreaking that Nigeria will now watch the Women’s World Cup, the U-20 World Cup and the U-17 World Cup entirely from home, on the back of already missing the 2026 men’s World Cup after a play off opportunity went unconverted.
A Call For Honest Introspection
Asked what path forward he saw, Iroha said Nigerian football needed to sit down and genuinely examine where things have gone wrong, describing that reflection as a necessary first step. He said the current pattern of results cannot be allowed to continue.
