Sunday Oliseh, a former head coach of the Super Eagles, has stated that if Nigeria does not qualify for the 2026 World Cup, football will cease to exist.
Goldennewsng reports that the three-time African champions were unable to participate in the Qatari event in 2022.
During the playoffs, they were defeated by Ghana, a rival from West Africa.
Before losing out on a spot in Qatar 2022, the Eagles took part in the three previous World Cups.
In a Monday interview with ARISE TV, Oliseh stated, “If we fail to qualify for the next World Cup, Nigeria football will be all but dead.”
We are further behind than many other nations because we did not participate in this World Cup and because we did not qualify for Qatar 2022.
“Football is a religion in this country, but you can’t have a good national team if you don’t have a strong league.”
The 2026 World Cup will be shared by the USA, Mexico, and Canada.