African Football Discussion Thread Current Topic: 👉 AFCON 2025/2026

[Mate2237]

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I wish the person that shared that news could add a picture to it so that we can understand the level of the project better, that $1.7 millions is quite big enough to put up something standards that should be beyond just an open rough project.  What happens when there is rain while games are ongoing?
Corruption is indeed a bad vises that affects the thinking faculty of some Nigerians, they travel and play on other stadium but when the returns to Nigeria their will act as if their are born to suffer us all the time.

One of the problem why Nigerian football has not developed past this level is the corruption. The people who has been managing the affairs of our football doesn't doesn't have the interest of our football in mind.because money ment for the purpose of football development has not been properly utilized and accounted for.



FIFA too has not done much in addressing this problem of corruption that, has been going on in the NFF. Because any time things like this come up NFF will go under FIFA and give excuses now that FIFA is even aware of this case a proper investigation should be done and anyone found wanting should be brought to book.

[SatoPrincess]

One of the problem why Nigerian football has not developed past this level is the corruption. The people who has been managing the affairs of our football doesn't doesn't have the interest of our football in mind.because money ment for the purpose of football development has not been properly utilized and accounted for.



FIFA too has not done much in addressing this problem of corruption that, has been going on in the NFF. Because any time things like this come up NFF will go under FIFA and give excuses now that FIFA is even aware of this case a proper investigation should be done and anyone found wanting should be brought to book.

The first person that should be arrested is Amaju Pinnick. He was NFF President for almost a decade. The man is as corrupt as they come, he left football that he’s supposed to develop instead he was spending money on entertainment and hosting comedy shows.

[Rockson1]

sincerely speaking something we don't have to blame those African players who are refusing or rejecting to play in their own country team, Africa countries are not treating the African players well and they even pay them peanuts, and if we also go deep down those African players who have rejected to play in their countries never hard any support from their governments from their little beginnings, they struggle all by themselves to get to where they are today. So buddy try and reason from every angles before you start judging or blaming them those African players who have rejected their countries and choose to play for another country. And as for Eddie Nketiah wether Ghana reject him or not it doesn't stop him getting to the level he want he want to be period.

I don't know for any other person, but as for me I don't blame any African player that refuses to play his country, some us will blame them because they don't make their mind known, from those guys pay which their entitlement and any other stuff if they should air them out, you will understand that African leaders and their cohorts are not doing things they way they should be, why won't some one who will be treated as someone who came to beg in his own country not decide to settle where he is been recognized well very and treated, for African football to get better and competitive, there are many things ro be addressed, unless they want to remain in the dark age.

[GiftedMAN]

One of the problem why Nigerian football has not developed past this level is the corruption. The people who has been managing the affairs of our football doesn't doesn't have the interest of our football in mind.because money ment for the purpose of football development has not been properly utilized and accounted for.



FIFA too has not done much in addressing this problem of corruption that, has been going on in the NFF. Because any time things like this come up NFF will go under FIFA and give excuses now that FIFA is even aware of this case a proper investigation should be done and anyone found wanting should be brought to book.

The first person that should be arrested is Amaju Pinnick. He was NFF President for almost a decade. The man is as corrupt as they come, he left football that he’s supposed to develop instead he was spending money on entertainment and hosting comedy shows.

The EFCC will not do their job they will prefer to go and arrest young boys instead of going for the real criminals like the politicians and people like Amaju Pinnick who have stolen millions of dollars they were supposed to be used for the development grass root football, the recent trending news about the amount that was paid to the NFF is enough to build a standard stadium but what did they do with it they shared the money among themselves and nothing has been done to them. That man Amaju Pinnick should be arrested he can't be using our memory to host jesters instead of channeling the money where it is meant to be, it's a very big shame.

[Ronsbit]

FIFA too has not done much in addressing this problem of corruption that, has been going on in the NFF. Because any time things like this come up NFF will go under FIFA and give excuses now that FIFA is even aware of this case a proper investigation should be done and anyone found wanting should be brought to book.

From what I noticed, FIFA used the stadium as their profile picture on X and this is sending a strong signal that they are watching and they know what is happening but I think NFF too needs to stop all these nonsense they are doing. Just imagine what and how the international community is looking at the football governing body to be a corrupt one to be.

Maybe FIFA should inaugurate a committee to look into this matter and  making sure they too appoint a supervisory council to look into every dime they have given the NFF and to also make sure the funds are all used judiciously. Only then will all these embezzlement of support funds would stop.

[Africolo]

Other African countries are doing better because those at the front organising our football are criminals that want to use the opportunity they have to escape property instead of improving the state of the game in the country. This goes to show how bad the politics is at the top because if they can steal now imagine what they do to choose players that'll play.

The way the country is regressing in terms of development it's worrisome looking at the high rate of development going on in other African countries. If we do nothing about it and keep allowing funds meant for development to be diverted for personal interests we maybe found ourselves too far from the rest of African countries in terms of development and infrastructure.

Average Nigerian keep blaming the players for poor performance without asking important questions like;

When was the last time we had home grown players in our starting lineup?

Why do we have to depends on foreign based players ? when the last time we won the AFCON we had more home grown players in the team and our grassroots football development was quite better too.

[Oluwa-btc]

However, I think based on Champions League performance last season and Ballon rating, I think Achraf Hakimi will have the most votes based on his team performance last season and how Morocco performed this n the World Cup qualifiers, he stand a better chance.

And if you're to rank them with how they performed during the last seasons Champions League Performance, Hakimi and  Serhou Guirassy can not be overlooked because they did crazily great for their respective teams. It is exactly one of the reasons my initial ranking went that way. But overall? That ranking remains the same. You'd have to take a close look at thier Champions League ratings and also various league ratings.

Finally, Alex Iwobi might not be my best player when he plays for Nigeria but I will support him nevertheless. This is a great one to celebrate, I had to come celebrate it here.

[Barikui1]

And if you're to rank them with how they performed during the last seasons Champions League Performance, Hakimi and  Serhou Guirassy can not be overlooked because they did crazily great for their respective teams. It is exactly one of the reasons my initial ranking went that way. But overall? That ranking remains the same. You'd have to take a close look at thier Champions League ratings and also various league ratings.

I don't think their performance last season will  be judged by the uefa champions league alone, they will be judged by their overall performance last season in all competition, how many trophy they managed to win and how instrumental they were in their respective winning team, not just in the uefa champions league.

Finally, Alex Iwobi might not be my best player when he plays for Nigeria but I will support him nevertheless. This is a great one to celebrate, I had to come celebrate it here.

Congratulation to him on this milestone, though am not that surprised that someone like him was able to achieve such feet, because he is more of English than a Nigerian by lifestyle, that's where he grew up, and all his life was in England, and with his quality and consistency on the club levels, it wasn't that hard for him to achieve it, congratulations to him once again.

[Salahmu]

Finally, Alex Iwobi might not be my best player when he plays for Nigeria but I will support him nevertheless. This is a great one to celebrate, I had to come celebrate it here.

Is a record for celebration and for doing what non others from his country has done even after a lot of them appearing on the premier League so many times but didn't have this much so congratulations to the super eagles left midfielder whom sometimes performance is very weak on the national matches but has excellent quality on his international club. However I thought Michael Obi was the Nigerian player who will have the best record in everything and especially this one on the premier League because during his football time he was the first Nigerian who saw favour in the English league and almost spent all his career on the league before he went to different league so I actually thought he had this record.

[SatoPrincess]

Finally, Alex Iwobi might not be my best player when he plays for Nigeria but I will support him nevertheless. This is a great one to celebrate, I had to come celebrate it here.

Congratulations to our very own Alex Iwobi. As much as I’m not impressed with his performance in the national team I know he’s really great in his domestic club. I believe Manchester United just celebrated Bruno Fernandes 300th game appearance for them and it was big. But that doesn’t compare to what this represents, this is a record for Nigeria.

[Finebone]

Congratulations to our very own Alex Iwobi. As much as I’m not impressed with his performance in the national team I know he’s really great in his domestic club. I believe Manchester United just celebrated Bruno Fernandes 300th game appearance for them and it was big. But that doesn’t compare to what this represents, this is a record for Nigeria.

Wow, this seems great for him and our beloved country naija but am a bit surprised that he is the first player in the history of Nigerian players playing in the premier League for some time now that is able to achieve such milestone, what about John obi Mikel?
He spent 10 solid year at Chelsea, it that he wasn't able to play such a huge numbers of games, or he was very close, but was short of this numbers that Alex iwobi has achieved while playing in the English premiere League, or is  there anything am missing?

[SatoPrincess]

Congratulations to our very own Alex Iwobi. As much as I’m not impressed with his performance in the national team I know he’s really great in his domestic club. I believe Manchester United just celebrated Bruno Fernandes 300th game appearance for them and it was big. But that doesn’t compare to what this represents, this is a record for Nigeria.

Wow, this seems great for him and our beloved country naija but am a bit surprised that he is the first player in the history of Nigerian players playing in the premier League for some time now that is able to achieve such milestone, what about John obi Mikel?
He spent 10 solid year at Chelsea, it that he wasn't able to play such a huge numbers of games, or he was very close, but was short of this numbers that Alex iwobi has achieved while playing in the English premiere League, or is  there anything am missing?

I was surprised by this as well but I didn’t pry into it. When I saw “first Nigerian player” my mind quickly went to Mikel Obi of Chelsea, Okocha of Bolton Wanderers, and Kanu of Arsenal.  They didn’t make it up to 300 game appearances but they made good of their time in the Premier League.

[igebotz]

Maybe FIFA should inaugurate a committee to look into this matter and  making sure they too appoint a supervisory council to look into every dime they have given the NFF and to also make sure the funds are all used judiciously. Only then will all these embezzlement of support funds would stop.

Unless they're sending external supervisors down to Nigeria to supervise what is going on- if they're going to use the same internal supervisors here in Nigeria then it's useless. Those internal supervisors are part of the corrupt system here- only care about their own pocket.

I was surprised by this as well but I didn’t pry into it. When I saw “first Nigerian player” my mind quickly went to Mikel Obi of Chelsea, Okocha of Bolton Wanderers, and Kanu of Arsenal.  They didn’t make it up to 300 game appearances but they made good of their time in the Premier League.

Quality over quantity everyday - nice achievement for Iwobi for there's literally zero trophies to show for the 300 appearance. Lol

[SatoPrincess]

Maybe FIFA should inaugurate a committee to look into this matter and  making sure they too appoint a supervisory council to look into every dime they have given the NFF and to also make sure the funds are all used judiciously. Only then will all these embezzlement of support funds would stop.

Unless they're sending external supervisors down to Nigeria to supervise what is going on- if they're going to use the same internal supervisors here in Nigeria then it's useless. Those internal supervisors are part of the corrupt system here- only care about their own pocket.

The corruption runs deep. I find it hard to believe that FIFA is entirely innocent in this case, someone in the federation must have been bribed to turn a blind eye.

I was surprised by this as well but I didn’t pry into it. When I saw “first Nigerian player” my mind quickly went to Mikel Obi of Chelsea, Okocha of Bolton Wanderers, and Kanu of Arsenal.  They didn’t make it up to 300 game appearances but they made good of their time in the Premier League.

Quality over quantity everyday - nice achievement for Iwobi for there's literally zero trophies to show for the 300 appearance. Lol

I think Iwobi is comfortable just chilling in Fulham. It doesn’t look to me like he is interested in winning trophies, I think he likes being the main man in a mid team that way he doesn’t have to worry his position on the team or getting minutes.

[igebotz]

The corruption runs deep. I find it hard to believe that FIFA is entirely innocent in this case, someone in the federation must have been bribed to turn a blind eye.

Let's assume you're right, have you asked yourself why they choose to do that in Nigeria and not other African countries? Tell more about us as a country.

I think Iwobi is comfortable just chilling in Fulham. It doesn’t look to me like he is interested in winning trophies, I think he likes being the main man in a mid team that way he doesn’t have to worry his position on the team or getting minutes.

Everyone want to win something, he's not just good enough.

[Ale88]

Maybe FIFA should inaugurate a committee to look into this matter and  making sure they too appoint a supervisory council to look into every dime they have given the NFF and to also make sure the funds are all used judiciously. Only then will all these embezzlement of support funds would stop.

Unless they're sending external supervisors down to Nigeria to supervise what is going on- if they're going to use the same internal supervisors here in Nigeria then it's useless. Those internal supervisors are part of the corrupt system here- only care about their own pocket.

The corruption runs deep. I find it hard to believe that FIFA is entirely innocent in this case, someone in the federation must have been bribed to turn a blind eye.

Fifa is never innocent, the corruption in football always begins with them. They are just after money, they don't really care about the sport nor the fans. They always try to find new ways to make money, legally or illegally. Maybe some of you are too young to remember but the even the FBI was after the ex Fifa president Joseph Blatter years ago. Some things will never change.

[Rruchi man]

Finally, Alex Iwobi might not be my best player when he plays for Nigeria but I will support him nevertheless. This is a great one to celebrate, I had to come celebrate it here.

Four years at Arsenal, from 2015 to 2019, then a move to Everton, where he also spent four years, from 2019 to 2023, and then to Fulham, where he has remained a key player to date... I think that is a long period to have enough appearances in the EPL.

I think Iwobi is comfortable just chilling in Fulham. It doesn’t look to me like he is interested in winning trophies, I think he likes being the main man in a mid team that way he doesn’t have to worry his position on the team or getting minutes.

Everyone want to win something, he's not just good enough.

He won the FA Cup and Community Shield with Arsenal; those are the only major trophies he has to his name.

The club that recently showed an interest in him was Atl Madrid. If he leaves Fulham, where he is a key player, for Atl Madrid, I think he will spend more time on the bench than he will have on the field.

[Alex077]

Fifa is never innocent, the corruption in football always begins with them. They are just after money, they don't really care about the sport nor the fans. They always try to find new ways to make money, legally or illegally. Maybe some of you are too young to remember but the even the FBI was after the ex Fifa president Joseph Blatter years ago. Some things will never change.

Actually this kind of corruption is not just a Nigerian problem anymore, it is happening all over the world, FIFA has pretty dirty hands too. FIFA pretends to be saints while everything from Blatter scandal to shady World Cup bids has been under FIFA’s watch,,  It is always money first game, they never care about football ..

I totally agree with igebotz, until FIFA sends external auturity, impartial auditors to look after the NFF funds, it will be nothing but the same old mess in the name of reform,,  actually the system feeds itself, one group of corrupt people overseeing other corupt people, wtf..,, Until there is real accountability at the top level, nothing will change

[Ronsbit]

Maybe FIFA should inaugurate a committee to look into this matter and  making sure they too appoint a supervisory council to look into every dime they have given the NFF and to also make sure the funds are all used judiciously. Only then will all these embezzlement of support funds would stop.

Unless they're sending external supervisors down to Nigeria to supervise what is going on- if they're going to use the same internal supervisors here in Nigeria then it's useless. Those internal supervisors are part of the corrupt system here- only care about their own pocket.

The corruption runs deep. I find it hard to believe that FIFA is entirely innocent in this case, someone in the federation must have been bribed to turn a blind eye.

Fifa is never innocent, the corruption in football always begins with them. They are just after money, they don't really care about the sport nor the fans. They always try to find new ways to make money, legally or illegally. Maybe some of you are too young to remember but the even the FBI was after the ex Fifa president Joseph Blatter years ago. Some things will never change.

Using internal supervisors would make the matter even worse because they would all connive with each others to do the unthinkable as corruption is already running in the system so I will suggest the international supervisory committee would be inaugurated by the international community or FIFA to oversee the affairs as it relates to all the funds released for support or other activities.

It is true that corruption is everywhere but I believe that of FIFA is not as obvious as it is in our country. The corruption is something else and would take extra efforts to curb it away. NFF should stop all these nonsense they do in attracting attention to herself for the wrong reasons. It is very absurd and embarrassing.

[Ndabagi01]

Finally, Alex Iwobi might not be my best player when he plays for Nigeria but I will support him nevertheless. This is a great one to celebrate, I had to come celebrate it here.

Congratulations to Alex Iwobi for his 300th appearance in the premier league. I also don’t rate him that much but for the record, he has been doing well for his clubs and mostly a starter in every team he gets to play in. I admire his play style a bit because I know he’s prone to some errors which usually cause Nigeria a lot in games. I was surprised when he was still in the line ups for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, he tried his best there and I hope they try and push Nigeria to the World Cup after the inter and intra-playoffs. So Mikel Obi never reached 300 appearance in the premier league with all the years he played with Chelsea, I’m amused though.