Former Nigeria international Segun Odegbami has declared that the country is experiencing the “worst time” in its football history. The damning assessment comes as the Super Eagles prepare to begin their qualifying campaign for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

According to reports, Nigeria is scheduled to face Madagascar at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on Friday, September 25, with kick-off at 5 pm Nigerian time. They will then travel to face Guinea-Bissau for their second Group L fixture on September 29.

Odegbami, a key member of the squad that helped Nigeria win its first Africa Cup of Nations title in 1980, emphasized that the current crisis extends far beyond the senior men’s national team.

He pointed to the fact that both the Super Eagles and the Super Falcons failed to qualify for their respective recent FIFA World Cups. Furthermore, the country’s age-grade teams and domestic clubs have struggled significantly in recent competitions.

“It has never been this bad in our entire history that we didn’t qualify for the World Cup,” the 74-year-old told BBC Sport Africa.

“Our girls (the Super Falcons), who were African champions, failed to win a competition (the 2025 Women’s Afcon) that was just there for their taking. All our junior teams are not doing well. Our local league is not bringing in money. Something is definitely wrong.”

The dire situation has already triggered major upheaval within the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). President Ibrahim Gusau, general secretary Mohammed Sanusi, and several executive committee members resigned from their posts in August.

Currently, a joint delegation from FIFA and CAF is collaborating with the National Sports Commission (NSC) to develop a roadmap for necessary reforms. Consequently, the NFF elections that were originally scheduled for September 27 have been suspended.

Beyond administrative issues, concerns regarding deteriorating infrastructure and a lack of investment have dominated the discourse surrounding Nigerian football. Odegbami noted that several stadiums that were once iconic venues have fallen into a state of disrepair after years of neglect.

He specifically cited the National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos—which hosted matches during the 1980 and 2000 AFCON tournaments—alongside the Liberty Stadium (now Obafemi Awolowo Stadium) in Ibadan, Kaduna’s Ahmadu Bello Stadium, and the UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar.

“I weep when I think of the amount of damage they have done to Nigerian football – the infrastructure that we had in the country, some of the historic monuments that were facilities for football in this country,” Odegbami said.

“Whether it was wilful, whether it was ignorance, they did irreparable damage to what was Nigeria’s heritage. Uyo is the best we have in Nigeria, but it is not half as good as what we had from the 1960s to the 90s.”

Odegbami concluded by contrasting Nigeria’s decline with major sporting investments happening elsewhere across the continent. He noted that Senegal is set to host the Youth Olympic Games; South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia will stage the 2027 Men’s Cricket World Cup; Kenya will host the 2029 World Athletics Championships; and Morocco will co-host the 2030 FIFA World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal.