{"id":897700,"date":"2026-04-08T11:14:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T16:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/08\/where-is-nigeria-olympic-winning-coach-queries-nff-over-super-eagles-world-cup-absence\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T11:14:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T16:14:43","slug":"where-is-nigeria-olympic-winning-coach-queries-nff-over-super-eagles-world-cup-absence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/08\/where-is-nigeria-olympic-winning-coach-queries-nff-over-super-eagles-world-cup-absence\/","title":{"rendered":"Where is Nigeria? \u2013 Olympic-winning coach queries NFF over Super Eagles World Cup absence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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\"Soccer<\/p>\n

Jo Bonfr\u00e8re and the Super EAGLES. Photo by Imago<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Former Super Eagles<\/a> and South Korea head coach Johannes Bonfr\u00ebre has questioned the leadership of the NFF after Nigeria missed out on consecutive FIFA World Cup tournaments, Soccernet.ng reports.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ghana participated in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Nigeria’s place after the Black Stars sealed an away goal advantage, and DR Congo did the same in 2026, but this time, on penalties.<\/p>\n

The failure to participate in the Mundial has tanked the reputation of the Super Eagles on the global stage, and Bonfrere, who led Nigeria to an Olympic gold in 1996, has urged the Football Federation to put in the work to avoid failure in four years.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Super Eagles of Nigeria. Copyright: Emmanuel Fernandez\/X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Get Our Sports News First \u2013\u00a0Join Our WhatsApp Channel Now!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Soccer Johannes Bonfr\u00ebre queries NFF over Super Eagles World Cup absence<\/h2>\n

A bronze medal at the AFCON 2025 tournament in Morocco didn’t make up for a World Cup miss, but the only way to rectify the errors of the past is to avoid them in the present.<\/p>\n

The Dutchman, in a recent interview, urged the three-time African Champions to put their woes behind them and put all the effort into sealing a spot at the 2030 FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSuper Eagles must put the 2026 World Cup disappointment behind them. Preparation for 2030 and 2034 must start now,\u201d the ex-UEA manager told Complete Sports<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Soccer
Former Nigerian national head coach Jo Bonfrere talks with Vise head coach Sunday Oliseh. Copyright: Imago<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\u201cIt is not good that Nigeria will not be at the World Cup in 2026. It is not good for the players, not good for Nigeria, and not good for Africa.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u201cThe Federation (NFF) must learn from the mistakes that led to Nigeria missing the 2026 World Cup. They should correct them and plan properly for 2030, starting with the 2027 AFCON.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many talented Nigerian players in top European clubs, and it will be unfortunate if they miss out on three consecutive World Cups,\u201d the 79-year-old emphasized.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Soccer
Super Eagles of Nigeria. Copyright: Imago<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\u201cNigeria is a giant in Africa. They should lead in everything, especially football, because they have some of the best talents on the continent.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not good that they missed the World Cup in 2022 and 2026, and now we are already talking about 2030. They must put their house in order.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world wants to see Nigeria at the World Cup. Fans love the energy and glamour Nigerians bring to the tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cFIFA always enjoys the atmosphere Nigerians create at the World Cup. The world is always looking forward to seeing them again.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Soccer
John Obi Mikel, Daniel Akpeyi and William Troost-Ekong in action for the Super Eagles of Nigeria. [Photo Credit\/ Imago].<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The ex-MVV Maastricht scout believes the Nigerian team brings Africa together, and the culture of the nation draws attention to Stadiums.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe saw it at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The world has not forgotten. In 1994, the world was excited about Nigeria. The same happened in 1998, 2002, 2010 in South Africa, and again in 2014.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople rushed to buy tickets for Super Eagles matches. Now the world is asking: where is Nigeria?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are the top Nigerian players playing in the biggest clubs and leagues in the world?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NFF must act now to get things right. There is still enough time to prepare properly for the 2030 and even the 2034 World Cups,\u201d Bonfrere concluded.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Soccer
Ademola Lookman, Frank Onyeka and Onyemaechi Bruno, Nigeria, celebrate a goal. Copyright: IMAGOxSegun Ogunfeyitimi<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bonfrere isn’t the only individual calling on the NFF to step up in the area of talent development. Former Flying Eagles coach, Fatai Amoo, earlier did the same thing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"<!--Adefolahan Guerreiro” src=”https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0f64d35abfd960f4a5a400c4bb517f7f0be6c48b655560fbdd37e59d9fc9ca58?s=80&d=mm&r=g” height=”80″ width=”80″ loading=”lazy” decoding=”async”>\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\tAdefolahan Guerreiro\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\t\tAdefolahan is a multilingual sports journalist and football writer whose work spans outlets like Soccernet Nigeria, Pure Football UK, and Royalsportz. <\/p>\n

With a sharp eye for detail and a background in college sports, he tells the African football story with depth, flair, and global perspective.<\/p>\n

Fluent in English, Spanish, and German, he brings a cross-cultural voice to his coverage, blending insight with accessibility for readers around the world.
\nHis portfolio includes interviews with top Nigerian stars like Finidi George, Junior Lokosa, Sikiru Alimi, Sodiq Ismaila, and Abraham Onahi Ogbu.<\/p>\n

A devoted Borussia Dortmund fan, Adefolahan thrives on the emotion and rhythm of the beautiful game. Away from work, he\u2019s a sci-fi enthusiast and series lover who enjoys exploring how sport, storytelling, and culture collide.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Adefolahan Guerreiro<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer Jo Bonfr\u00e8re and the Super EAGLES. Photo by Imago Former Super Eagles and South Korea head coach Johannes Bonfr\u00ebre has questioned the leadership of the NFF after Nigeria missed out on consecutive FIFA World Cup tournaments, Soccernet.ng reports. Ghana participated in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Nigeria’s place after the Black Stars sealed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":897701,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27096,2005,4009],"tags":[15956,6103],"class_list":{"0":"post-897700","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nigeria","8":"category-soccer","9":"category-where","10":"tag-nigeria","11":"tag-where"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=897700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/897700\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/897701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=897700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=897700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=897700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}