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

[DiMarxist]

This is the first time, I'm seeing this news and I have tried to search for it without any good information on it.

However, if the cases has been judged in favor of Nigeria, Nigeria still needs to participate in the six team intercontinental playoffs tournament in March 2026 before they can finally qualify for the world cup.

If the news is true then I think Nigeria will qualify without stress to the world cup in June. The teams that will be faced are pretty much weak teams from Oceania and personally, Nigeria will qualify. So, basically this is the way Nigeria will use in getting to the World cup all tanks to DR Congo for going against fielding ineligible player in a serious competitive match. I really wonder what exactly they were thinking.

I am not sure of this News though I was the one brought it this evening but the news is not legit yet. And it is only in the NFF Facebook channel which is a propaganda for me. I saw the news in another blogger that the verdict favoured Dr Congo, I am even confused on the information. And I also support the news as fake news because there is no national social media or news blogs have broadcast it or TV or Radio and if such thing happened, everywhere will green and there would be a jubilation across social media with fans.

[BitBakerr1]

This is the first time, I'm seeing this news and I have tried to search for it without any good information on it.

However, if the cases has been judged in favor of Nigeria, Nigeria still needs to participate in the six team intercontinental playoffs tournament in March 2026 before they can finally qualify for the world cup.

If the news is true then I think Nigeria will qualify without stress to the world cup in June. The teams that will be faced are pretty much weak teams from Oceania and personally, Nigeria will qualify. So, basically this is the way Nigeria will use in getting to the World cup all tanks to DR Congo for going against fielding ineligible player in a serious competitive match. I really wonder what exactly they were thinking.

I heard that the announcements or the final decision will be made today and till this night I have not seen any announcement or news from FIFA or African football federation. I really don’t know what is delaying them to finalize everything but if they actually finalize or should do the right thing, Congo should be disqualified because they did not follow the rules and regulation. They did an illegal thing and this has happened to other nations before, and they got disqualification, I believe Nigeria we go to the World Cup because I’m sure they would qualify, I have been on online since morning watching and looking for the final news. I’m happy because I’m from Nigeria and I want my country to go to the World Cup.

[Mate2237]

Maybe FIFA wants to give the verdict in the night but there's no need for that, by now there would have been a statement to put this whole world cup drama to an end. But what is the reason for this delay there has been enough time for FIFA to make their investigation should have come up with a conclusion. No need for the delay because there is a lot of suspense on the both ends as both Nigerians and Congolese fans are anxious about their fate today.



But let wait and see the decision that FIFA will make what is certain is that from now till 12 midnight today there will be a verdict and everyone will rest as a Nigerian I hope that the decision will go out way but for the sake of fairness Nigeria failed to qualify from the play offs so no need of raising unnecessary noise looking for an escape route for their failures.

[Callido]

If the news is true then I think Nigeria will qualify without stress to the world cup in June. The teams that will be faced are pretty much weak teams from Oceania and personally, Nigeria will qualify. So, basically this is the way Nigeria will use in getting to the World cup all tanks to DR Congo for going against fielding ineligible player in a serious competitive match. I really wonder what exactly they were thinking.

I'm not getting excited yet, from my own source says Nigeria are still waiting for the verdict from the panel on what they decide on the matter, anything you hear is a rumor to me, until i see more evidence to it. I wouldn't want Nigeria to be there, i believe we can make good use of second chances, Nigeria being in the World Cup will give it more hype, based on the recent complain from FIFA not receiving the hype for the upcoming World Cup tournament.

[Solodoski]

I heard that the announcements or the final decision will be made today and till this night I have not seen any announcement or news from FIFA or African football federation. I really don’t know what is delaying them to finalize everything but if they actually finalize or should do the right thing, Congo should be disqualified because they did not follow the rules and regulation. They did an illegal thing and this has happened to other nations before, and they got disqualification, I believe Nigeria we go to the World Cup because I’m sure they would qualify, I have been on online since morning watching and looking for the final news. I’m happy because I’m from Nigeria and I want my country to go to the World Cup.

Dont be in a haste, FIFA should take their time to make the right decision. I am also waiting for the announcement to be made, in the meantime, we should ignore any new, and also social media post claiming an announcement is made if it is not coming from the original FIFA page on X.

Hopefully, it wont exceed this week, because the FIFA word cup will start in the next 4 months. That means all playoff must be played before that time.

[Roseline492]

Yeah, it makes me wonder because this is a dark act. The NFF should let bygones be bygones. I dont understand why they are pushing for this thing so bad when the fans have removed their mind from the World Cup.

After all, I hear rumour of Erich Chelle presenting his application to be Olympique Marselle manager, meaning if the deal goes through he will forfeit being the Super Eagles manager.

I thought they say he had some clubs that wanted him but because of how he loves Nigerian team he doesn't want to go anywhere so what changed his mind to Olympique Marselle?, maybe it was because those clubs or country that was making an advances on him wasn't the way super eagles was handling him, however in as much as he is coaching our national team so long as he would have a chance to coached a club that is not a national team, is going to be a good place for him in French league if he would make the club to improve. Super eagles wasn't ready for new coach but they have to think about one even if Erich Chelle hasn't been accepted yet.

[Fiatless]

I wonder what the Nigerian federation intends to achieve with this, because from what I see, FIFA has no intention of punishing Congo. If that were the case, Congo would have been punished a long time ago. It seems to me that the Nigerian federation still wants to clean up their image for not qualifying despite having one of the strongest squads in Africa, and the fault lies not with the squad, but with the federation, which failed to hire a good coach early enough.

So now, without AFCON and without World Cup qualification, they need to use this method of complaining to FIFA to clean up their image. Unfortunately, it seems like a path that won't produce great results.

No its not just about the NFF trying to right their wrong. It's about identifying an opportunity and taking advantage of it. The naturalization process of the Congo DR is clear, and there are indications that some players didn't go through the right procedure.

If Nigeria gets a favorable judgment, I know Nigerians will begin to praise the NFF for doing a good job. If it turns out negatively, we accept our fate and wait for another four years. We are still expecting the verdict.

[Marvelockg]

If Nigeria gets a favorable judgment, I know Nigerians will begin to praise the NFF for doing a good job. If it turns out negatively, we accept our fate and wait for another four years. We are still expecting the verdict.

If only we can stand to speak up for ourselves the same way we are speaking up in times like this then most the challenges we are currently facing would have been a thing of the past. from how far the news has come, it is already becoming likely that the verdict is in favor of Nigeria and that a play off is possible. As much as a positive verdict from the stand point of a Nigerian is a good thing, i think that we should be rather more concerned about having a team that can qualify for major tournament without doing anything too serious like going through what now looks like a back door. until then, all these are just short term effort that can never bring the nation to where it ought to be.

[IceLincoln]

No one should think of Nwabali accepting any local deal back to Nigeria because he is too big to be in any team back home, I do not know why he couldn't secure another deal with different club before his agreement to leave Chippa United but if he gets offers from Saudi Arabia or Turkey it is better for him to move there instead of going back to Enyimba in Nigeria where he will not be properly taken care of if anything happens to him like injury.

Well, we normally complain that our local league is not being talk about or being taken serious but at the same time we don't want our star players to participate in the local league? How do we improve the league when every player is running outside? If all players decide to play for foreign countries instead of playing at home, how will the local league survive? To be honest, I see nothing wrong with Nwabali going back to play for Eyimba if he fails to secure a contract outside. After all, Ahmed Musa returned to play for Kano pillars after his huge impact on the national team and heaven didn't fall. The fact remain Nwabali is not bigger than Ahmed Musa. Now, I see reasons why some players linked to Nigeria and Africa at large chose to play for European nation teams instead of playing for their home country.

It is not the end of the road for Stanley Nwabali if he decides to play for the local league in Nigeria, he was playing somewhere else in Africa. The Nigerian NPFL is still a big deal in Africa despite all their shortcomings.
I understand why most people wouldn’t want him playing here; but it’s better he’s active than sitting idle while looking for a new contract elsewhere.
He’s not the first big player to play at home, if not that he’s good he’s not that much of a big player (the National team made him Big).

[Agbamoni]

I thought they say he had some clubs that wanted him but because of how he loves Nigerian team he doesn't want to go anywhere so what changed his mind to Olympique Marselle?, maybe it was because those clubs or country that was making an advances on him wasn't the way super eagles was handling him, however in as much as he is coaching our national team so long as he would have a chance to coached a club that is not a national team, is going to be a good place for him in French league if he would make the club to improve. Super eagles wasn't ready for new coach but they have to think about one even if Erich Chelle hasn't been accepted yet.

If you were in his shoes, what would you do? I do not doubt that you will reject the position of head coach at Olympique Marseille.
We dont need any seer to tell us Erich Cheille would leave the Super Eagle if another contract is agreed. A bigger contract means bigger pay, and his coaching career will begin if he does well at Marseille. A lifetime-changing opportunity, he wont miss out on it.

[Princess Leah]

I thought they say he had some clubs that wanted him but because of how he loves Nigerian team he doesn't want to go anywhere so what changed his mind to Olympique Marselle?, maybe it was because those clubs or country that was making an advances on him wasn't the way super eagles was handling him, however in as much as he is coaching our national team so long as he would have a chance to coached a club that is not a national team, is going to be a good place for him in French league if he would make the club to improve. Super eagles wasn't ready for new coach but they have to think about one even if Erich Chelle hasn't been accepted yet.

If you were in his shoes, what would you do? I do not doubt that you will reject the position of head coach at Olympique Marseille.
We dont need any seer to tell us Erich Cheille would leave the Super Eagle if another contract is agreed. A bigger contract means bigger pay, and his coaching career will begin if he does well at Marseille. A lifetime-changing opportunity, he wont miss out on it.

That's an opportunity I'll grab without looking back cause if he does well at Marseille it would attract the attention of bigger clubs across Europe, see how Liam James Rosenior got elevated from coaching Strasbourg to becoming the head coach of Chelsea FC a big elevation to his career, so if Chelle gets the offer he should grab it so as to upgrade his coaching profile.

 The Super Eagles would miss him if he eventually leaves but they'll move on, i just hope they’ll sign another quality coach that would try to do better than Chelle not someone that would take them backwards Finidi George.

[Mr Reporter]

I wonder what the Nigerian federation intends to achieve with this, because from what I see, FIFA has no intention of punishing Congo. If that were the case, Congo would have been punished a long time ago. It seems to me that the Nigerian federation still wants to clean up their image for not qualifying despite having one of the strongest squads in Africa, and the fault lies not with the squad, but with the federation, which failed to hire a good coach early enough.

So now, without AFCON and without World Cup qualification, they need to use this method of complaining to FIFA to clean up their image. Unfortunately, it seems like a path that won't produce great results.

No its not just about the NFF trying to right their wrong. It's about identifying an opportunity and taking advantage of it. The naturalization process of the Congo DR is clear, and there are indications that some players didn't go through the right procedure.

If Nigeria gets a favorable judgment, I know Nigerians will begin to praise the NFF for doing a good job. If it turns out negatively, we accept our fate and wait for another four years. We are still expecting the verdict.

Firstly I would want to say congratulations on your new ranks which is looking good on you, I think the the NFF are not even trying to write any worng at all..: i feel they are just trying very possible best to benefit from the situation.

I feel more like the NFF are just bull shite guy’s I think the Nigeria guy should not even praise for doing their jobs it there responsibility to take matter like this into there hands..

[Alonso_]

I thought they say he had some clubs that wanted him but because of how he loves Nigerian team he doesn't want to go anywhere so what changed his mind to Olympique Marselle?, maybe it was because those clubs or country that was making an advances on him wasn't the way super eagles was handling him, however in as much as he is coaching our national team so long as he would have a chance to coached a club that is not a national team, is going to be a good place for him in French league if he would make the club to improve. Super eagles wasn't ready for new coach but they have to think about one even if Erich Chelle hasn't been accepted yet.

If you were in his shoes, what would you do? I do not doubt that you will reject the position of head coach at Olympique Marseille.
We dont need any seer to tell us Erich Cheille would leave the Super Eagle if another contract is agreed. A bigger contract means bigger pay, and his coaching career will begin if he does well at Marseille. A lifetime-changing opportunity, he wont miss out on it.

I don’t understand how that news of Eric Cheille is actually possible, anyways I believe that that it’s just all a rumor, because I don’t understand how Marseille is going to sigh him as a coach and African Black man I think this would be absolutely impossible.

I think this rumors originated from when he went to watch the games between Marseille and Rennes, where he meet a Nigerian player that was signed recently, we know it’s possible for him to leave leave the Super Eagles, considering that they didn’t qualify for the World Cup, and if he gets a better contract that is more attractive than the super Eagles I don’t see him staying with the Super Eagles.