Former Super Eagles winger Emmanuel Amuneke and ex-international Etim Esin have urged the Nigeria Football Federation to prioritise grassroots football development following the country’s failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, The PUNCH reports.
Amuneke said the NFF should focus on discovering talent at the grassroots level rather than relying solely on foreign-based players.
“I came through that rank of playing from youth, even when I was in school, I was playing for a club because I was given the opportunity by late coach Yemi Tella,” Amuneke said.
“So why can’t we focus on looking for talent in the grassroots among the youths? Nigeria has players; we have never fallen short of players, they just need the right environment and trust by the football bodies.”
Esin, who represented Nigeria at the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship, said improved facilities would bridge the gap between home-based and foreign-based players.
“All of us from my time came from the grassroots and the local leagues. The reason why it seems the foreign-based do better than the home-based is because of the facilities they have abroad,” Esin told The PUNCH.
“If the NFF can give the players here the good facilities and level of attention and coaching the players abroad get, then Nigeria can have more than enough quality.”
Danish FIFA scout and ex-footballer Denni Conteh praised Nigerian players’ physical attributes but highlighted areas needing improvement.
“Nigerian talents have a lot of heart. They’re physically strong, quick, and athletic. What they need is tactical awareness, positioning, and basic fundamentals like first touch,” Conteh told The PUNCH.
“There should be more players ready to go. A lot have good skills but miss the basics, and if they had that, more players would be of a higher quality in the national team. The government and the right bodies need to focus on building infrastructure that would help them develop.”
Nigerian teams have previously excelled, especially with youth impact, as Nigeria still holds the record for the most U-17 World Cup wins with five, and Nwankwo Kanu proved key to Olympic gold at age 19 in 1996.
Now, Nigeria have failed to qualify for the last two U-17 World Cups and have not played Olympic football since 2016, where they finished third.
