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

[Marykeller]

Sometimes I would want to support this motion that Congo should qualify as they beat us free and fair… that is right But if there’s a rule or a law and there’s a bridge of it no matter how small should be loooked at.
If the petition of the NFF is true and the FiFA finds Congo guilty then there’ll be punishment otherwise nothing at all.

The same punishable offense that is being passed to South Africa, will be applied to Congo if they are found guilty of the offense laid against them. There will be no partialities if CAF finds Congo guilty of their offense. You know how this works, it will take time before the final verdict is given so that there won't be any partialities in the judgment because of how dedicated the matter is. The whole world is watching how CAF will pass their verdict on Congo, whether to let or stop them from going to this year's World Cup

[Ndabagi01]

As you all must have heard, the NFF have filled a petition to FIFA regarding the Congoleese feilding 6 players who are ineligible to paritipate for the inter-continental playoffs.

The NFF is yet to hear a verdict this week. As FIFA has made it clear that the World Cup qualification is not decided only by goals, points, and form. It is also decided by obedience to the rules and regulations, documentation, and whether each federation meet their demands of the FIFA rulebook.

If the super eagles can still make it to the world cup through this method, I think they will be most pleased and become the luckiest team to have ever participated in the World Cup. I have seen a lot of backlash by many Nigerians about how they feel the super eagles won’t be able to do anything exceptional in the World Cup even if they qualify for it, but the truth of the matter is that even if your country is the weakest of teams and can’t score even a goal in the World Cup, it is a thing of prestige to see your country playing in the World Cup.

I really wanted Nigeria to qualify for the World Cup and if this is still going to be possible, then we await the verdict of FIFA on this. Maybe if they qualify through this method, they may be able to show a better and greater performance than they exhibited in the qualification matches of the World Cup and also in the African Cup of Nations.

[Rruchi man]

As you all must have heard, the NFF have filled a petition to FIFA regarding the Congoleese feilding 6 players who are ineligible to paritipate for the inter-continental playoffs.

The NFF is yet to hear a verdict this week. As FIFA has made it clear that the World Cup qualification is not decided only by goals, points, and form. It is also decided by obedience to the rules and regulations, documentation, and whether each federation meet their demands of the FIFA rulebook.

If the super eagles can still make it to the world cup through this method, I think they will be most pleased and become the luckiest team to have ever participated in the World Cup. I have seen a lot of backlash by many Nigerians about how they feel the super eagles won’t be able to do anything exceptional in the World Cup even if they qualify for it, but the truth of the matter is that even if your country is the weakest of teams and can’t score even a goal in the World Cup, it is a thing of prestige to see your country playing in the World Cup.

I think many Nigerians by now have already adjusted to the idea that the Super Eagles will not be in the upcoming World Cup.

 I think it is best we also accept it and not expect to sneak in through the back door through this case. Don't get your hopes too high.

The Super Eagles should take this as a time to regroup and find their form as the dominating team in African football.

[Richbased]

I think many Nigerians by now have already adjusted to the idea that the Super Eagles will not be in the upcoming World Cup.

 I think it is best we also accept it and not expect to sneak in through the back door through this case. Don't get your hopes too high.

The Super Eagles should take this as a time to regroup and find their form as the dominating team in African football.

Am even surprised with the uproar on social media about a possibility of Nigeria passing through the back door to the world cup. Firstly, what came to my mind was that even if Nigeria is declared to go for the world cup, are they not going to play the confederation playoff round before they qualify again? which it is possible that they will still lose over there so they should just allow Congo to go and stop this high expectation. What the Super Eagles need now is to go back to the drawing board and see how they can do better in upcoming competitions instead of the distraction that there may be a way they can maneuver into the world cup.

[Princess Leah]

I think many Nigerians by now have already adjusted to the idea that the Super Eagles will not be in the upcoming World Cup.

 I think it is best we also accept it and not expect to sneak in through the back door through this case. Don't get your hopes too high.

The Super Eagles should take this as a time to regroup and find their form as the dominating team in African football.

Am even surprised with the uproar on social media about a possibility of Nigeria passing through the back door to the world cup. Firstly, what came to my mind was that even if Nigeria is declared to go for the world cup, are they not going to play the confederation playoff round before they qualify again? which it is possible that they will still lose over there so they should just allow Congo to go and stop this high expectation. What the Super Eagles need now is to go back to the drawing board and see how they can do better in upcoming competitions instead of the distraction that there may be a way they can maneuver into the world cup.

I don't think Fifa have given any verdict concerning Dr Congo's case and I hope they don't allow Nigeria pass through the back door like you said cause I'm not very confident in the Super Eagles especially now that's there's a possibility of Chelle leaving to go coach a club, the Super Eagle's didn't merit the Fifa tournament and should just accept their fate.

 Yes, theu ought to try against, failure doesn't mean that they might not succeed next time moreover if Fifa wanted Dr Congo to be out they wouldn't have taken this long to give their verdict concerning this case. I've moved on from the Super Eagles and the world cup qualification, I'm now focused on the Premier League and Arsenal bottling the league or not this season.  

[Fiatless]

Am even surprised with the uproar on social media about a possibility of Nigeria passing through the back door to the world cup. Firstly, what came to my mind was that even if Nigeria is declared to go for the world cup, are they not going to play the confederation playoff round before they qualify again? which it is possible that they will still lose over there so they should just allow Congo to go and stop this high expectation. What the Super Eagles need now is to go back to the drawing board and see how they can do better in upcoming competitions instead of the distraction that there may be a way they can maneuver into the world cup.

Why are they saying this? Didn't you see the Super Eagles performanc in the African Cup Nations? I think they did very well and even won the bronze medal. Nigeria has the capacity to beat any team they will meet in the Play-Off Tournament. Winning this appeal is giving Nigerians another chance, and I think we should maximize it. 

[Wakate]

Why are they saying this? Didn't you see the Super Eagles performanc in the African Cup Nations? I think they did very well and even won the bronze medal. Nigeria has the capacity to beat any team they will meet in the Play-Off Tournament. Winning this appeal is giving Nigerians another chance, and I think we should maximize it. 

I am very disappointed in you and it is very unfortunate that you don't want good for your own country.
How can you be happy to see your country coming out as the third position in the AFCON and also could not qualify for the world cup.
This is a big disappointment for the super eagles and the Nigerian football federation for allowing the players not to play to their best that could have led to winning the AFCON.

[Richbased]

Am even surprised with the uproar on social media about a possibility of Nigeria passing through the back door to the world cup. Firstly, what came to my mind was that even if Nigeria is declared to go for the world cup, are they not going to play the confederation playoff round before they qualify again? which it is possible that they will still lose over there so they should just allow Congo to go and stop this high expectation. What the Super Eagles need now is to go back to the drawing board and see how they can do better in upcoming competitions instead of the distraction that there may be a way they can maneuver into the world cup.

Why are they saying this? Didn't you see the Super Eagles performanc in the African Cup Nations? I think they did very well and even won the bronze medal. Nigeria has the capacity to beat any team they will meet in the Play-Off Tournament. Winning this appeal is giving Nigerians another chance, and I think we should maximize it. 

We are talking about the world cup not the Nations Cup. Their performance in the world cup qualifier series was not same as the Nations Cup. In the Nations cup they started with good performance from the first match till they were eliminated by Morocco but can we say the same thing for their performance in the world cup qualifier? was it not towards the ending matches that they started playing like who wants to qualify. So you will be happy if they pass through the back door to play the confederation play-offs right? Nigeria is bigger than qualifying through that means.

[Fiatless]

Why are they saying this? Didn't you see the Super Eagles performanc in the African Cup Nations? I think they did very well and even won the bronze medal. Nigeria has the capacity to beat any team they will meet in the Play-Off Tournament. Winning this appeal is giving Nigerians another chance, and I think we should maximize it.  

I am very disappointed in you and it is very unfortunate that you don't want good for your own country.
How can you be happy to see your country coming out as the third position in the AFCON and also could not qualify for the world cup.
This is a big disappointment for the super eagles and the Nigerian football federation for allowing the players not to play to their best that could have led to winning the AFCON.

I am surprised that you are disappointed at me for airing my views. Every one of us have standard for the Super Eagles. After seeing our performance in the World Cup Qualifiers, I never thought they would get to the semi-finals. And it was obvious that poor officiating contributed to Nigeria's loss to Morocco in the semis.  

If African powerhouses like Cameroon, the Ivory Coast, and Tunisia failed to make it to the semi-finals, I would celebrate the Super Eagles for winning the bronze. Everyone is entitled to their opinions.

We are talking about the world cup not the Nations Cup. Their performance in the world cup qualifier series was not same as the Nations Cup. In the Nations cup they started with good performance from the first match till they were eliminated by Morocco but can we say the same thing for their performance in the world cup qualifier? was it not towards the ending matches that they started playing like who wants to qualify. So you will be happy if they pass through the back door to play the confederation play-offs right? Nigeria is bigger than qualifying through that means.

You just affirmed that the Super Eagles have improved. There is nothing like a backdoor qualification. If the Congo DR is found guilty of violating FIFA rules, it should be punished. It is not wrong to have a second chance.   

[Wiwo]

Why are they saying this? Didn't you see the Super Eagles performanc in the African Cup Nations? I think they did very well and even won the bronze medal. Nigeria has the capacity to beat any team they will meet in the Play-Off Tournament. Winning this appeal is giving Nigerians another chance, and I think we should maximize it. 

I am very disappointed in you and it is very unfortunate that you don't want good for your own country.
How can you be happy to see your country coming out as the third position in the AFCON and also could not qualify for the world cup.
This is a big disappointment for the Super Eagles and the Nigerian football federation for allowing the players not to play to their best that could have led to winning the AFCON.

I am surprised that you are disappointed in me for airing my views. Every one of us have standard for the Super Eagles. After seeing our performance in the World Cup Qualifiers, I never thought they would get to the semi-finals. And it was obvious that poor officiating contributed to Nigeria's loss to Morocco in the semis.   

If African powerhouses like Cameroon, the Ivory Coast, and Tunisia failed to make it to the semi-finals, I would celebrate the Super Eagles for winning the bronze. Everyone is entitled to their opinions.

Honestly the Nigerian super eagles did excellent this season because from all their games their performance this season was out of the ordinary and what we have been used to from the supper eagle's, I think the only thing that stood between them and the final winning was just luck and we should at least commend them for their recent and latest winnings Bronze 🥉 is not entirely bad considering where the Nigerian team have been in the previous tournaments.

[Iroh]

I hope they do not qualify for the FIFA World Cup Competition. Congolese has merited it the right way, they should be the country in the world cup and not Nigeria.

The NFF are hypocritical bastards, if they cannot execute the stadiums funded by the FIFA,  how do they want FIFA to take them serious? I mean when they couldn't carry out a proper task. One thing I would love, will be having the NFF directores sacked and chased out.

I get your point. Personally, I think it's a waste of time cause it would probably go nowhere and I think they themselves know the petition  would go nowhere and they may have another mundane reason for submitting it.
I agree with you. They didn't qualify based on the traditionally known and accepted method of playing better and winning your opponent in your games, accumulating more points with each win. There's no need crying over split milk as they ought to start now to put things in place in readiness for the next international competition. It's really a pity the super eagles couldn't qualify for the world cup.

[Mr Reporter]

Why are they saying this? Didn't you see the Super Eagles performanc in the African Cup Nations? I think they did very well and even won the bronze medal. Nigeria has the capacity to beat any team they will meet in the Play-Off Tournament. Winning this appeal is giving Nigerians another chance, and I think we should maximize it. 

I am very disappointed in you and it is very unfortunate that you don't want good for your own country.
How can you be happy to see your country coming out as the third position in the AFCON and also could not qualify for the world cup.
This is a big disappointment for the super eagles and the Nigerian football federation for allowing the players not to play to their best that could have led to winning the AFCON.

Honestly speaking am really to understand what you meant by saying you are disappointed at the NFF and the super eagles…the truth be told when I heard the super eagles came third it was something I was not very not happy with at a time but I feel it more time they might do well the next season to show how good their are at the next level…

[Richbased]

We are talking about the world cup not the Nations Cup. Their performance in the world cup qualifier series was not same as the Nations Cup. In the Nations cup they started with good performance from the first match till they were eliminated by Morocco but can we say the same thing for their performance in the world cup qualifier? was it not towards the ending matches that they started playing like who wants to qualify. So you will be happy if they pass through the back door to play the confederation play-offs right? Nigeria is bigger than qualifying through that means.

You just affirmed that the Super Eagles have improved. There is nothing like a backdoor qualification. If the Congo DR is found guilty of violating FIFA rules, it should be punished. It is not wrong to have a second chance.   

It's better they are not granted a second chance because i know what i'm saying, if they reach the world cup we might also see another ugly performance from them over there. I wanted Nigeria in the world cup so badly but since they couldn't qualify via direct qualification round, they should just stay and watch other African country play the world cup so that next time they will have to sit up and do what is needed for them to qualify. Do you know how heartbroken Nigerians felt that  they didn't qualify for the world cup? we don't want them to go there and disgrace us.

[Nightwatchmare]

Why are they saying this? Didn't you see the Super Eagles performanc in the African Cup Nations? I think they did very well and even won the bronze medal. Nigeria has the capacity to beat any team they will meet in the Play-Off Tournament. Winning this appeal is giving Nigerians another chance, and I think we should maximize it.  

I am very disappointed in you and it is very unfortunate that you don't want good for your own country.
How can you be happy to see your country coming out as the third position in the AFCON and also could not qualify for the world cup.
This is a big disappointment for the super eagles and the Nigerian football federation for allowing the players not to play to their best that could have led to winning the AFCON.

If you are disappointed at Fiatless and sees him as someone who do not want good for his own country just because he is happy that his own country were able to finish third in the just concluded Afcon tournament, i think you are wrong because since Fiatness's country could not win the Afcon tournament, instead of Fiatness's country ending the Afcon tournament empty handed, it is better they finished third because there are plenty of countries that wanted to finish third but they could not achieve it.

[Emeraldo]

I am surprised that you are disappointed at me for airing my views. Every one of us have standard for the Super Eagles. After seeing our performance in the World Cup Qualifiers, I never thought they would get to the semi-finals. And it was obvious that poor officiating contributed to Nigeria's loss to Morocco in the semis.  

If African powerhouses like Cameroon, the Ivory Coast, and Tunisia failed to make it to the semi-finals, I would celebrate the Super Eagles for winning the bronze. Everyone is entitled to their opinions.

Do you know that country like Nigeria and Ghana are supposed to perform better during the AFCON tournament and the world cup qualifier but could not because of bad leadership. Their is nothing a power house when discussing about football.
Do not be surprised that the worse club or team can beat the strongest when it comes to football which had made some matches to be hardly predictable.

[Fiatless]

Moroccan court sentences 19 fans to jail for AFCON hooliganism

Eleven people were sentenced to one year in prison and handed a $550 fine. Four were sentenced to six months and given a $218 fine. The remaining four were sentenced to three months and a $130 fine, lawyer Naima El Guellaf told The Associated Press.

https://africa.espn.com/football/story/_/id/47978937/moroccan-court-sentences-19-fans-jail-afcon-hooliganism

I am surprised that CAF and FIFA couldn't resolve this issue through diplomacy and dialogue. These fans who went to Morocco to support their country will be sent to prison and come out as ex-cons. This is just too hard to believe. It is normal for fans to have altercations with rival fans and security agencies but sending them to jail is going to the extreme. This would have been settled without court convictions.

[Iamgoat]

If the super eagles can still make it to the world cup through this method, I think they will be most pleased and become the luckiest team to have ever participated in the World Cup. I have seen a lot of backlash by many Nigerians about how they feel the super eagles won’t be able to do anything exceptional in the World Cup even if they qualify for it, but the truth of the matter is that even if your country is the weakest of teams and can’t score even a goal in the World Cup, it is a thing of prestige to see your country playing in the World Cup.

I really wanted Nigeria to qualify for the World Cup and if this is still going to be possible, then we await the verdict of FIFA on this. Maybe if they qualify through this method, they may be able to show a better and greater performance than they exhibited in the qualification matches of the World Cup and also in the African Cup of Nations.

I will also want to see Super Eagles continue in this but they ought to have made this happen all along before now. We cant always finish in this angle, in a position where we are always prayer for the failure of others’ based on rulings rather than defeating them in the pitch. Based on the articles I read, we may be able to get this verdict to favor us but it will probably be the last option we will get based on their judgement understanding how their system and policies work. It will be difficult for FIFA to disqualify them becaause of those two players. I understand they may try to be strict with their policies but I also understand politics will playout in their favour rather than in the Super Eagle’s favor.

[Wakate]

Moroccan court sentences 19 fans to jail for AFCON hooliganism

Eleven people were sentenced to one year in prison and handed a $550 fine. Four were sentenced to six months and given a $218 fine. The remaining four were sentenced to three months and a $130 fine, lawyer Naima El Guellaf told The Associated Press.

https://africa.espn.com/football/story/_/id/47978937/moroccan-court-sentences-19-fans-jail-afcon-hooliganism

I am surprised that CAF and FIFA couldn't resolve this issue through diplomacy and dialogue. These fans who went to Morocco to support their country will be sent to prison and come out as ex-cons. This is just too hard to believe. It is normal for fans to have altercations with rival fans and security agencies but sending them to jail is going to the extreme. This would have been settled without court convictions.

Those that are unfortunate to be arrested by the morrocan securities will have to face the law why those that are fortunate would have gone back to their country. Even if morroco almost cheated them, they shouldn't have cause violence by destroying another country property ignorantly. I don't support violence and this is very wrong, the government of each country supposed to dialogue to end the fans disputes.