Former Nigeria captain John Obi Mikel has again called for a change in the leadership of the country’s football administration after the Golden Eaglets were knocked out of the WAFU B U17 Championship in Ouagadougou.
Nigeria’s under-17 side suffered a 2-1 defeat to Niger before drawing 1-1 with Cote d’Ivoire, results that ended their hopes of reaching the 2027 U17 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. The WAFU B competition acted as the qualifying tournament for the continental finals.
Mikel, who played for Chelsea, linked the struggles of Nigeria’s men’s national teams to weak youth development and administrators he believes are more concerned with personal gain than building the sport. He said his demand for those in control to step aside has been made many times before.
“The people who are running football and are in charge have to leave; I have said that repeatedly,” Mikel said. “Once your focus is on what enters your own pocket rather than developing the game, there is a problem. The people sitting there now are only thinking about what they can get for themselves.”
He argued that the failings begin with those at the highest level, while youth football structures have been allowed to deteriorate.
“It always begins at the top. If the academies and youth system are not functioning properly, especially at under-17 level, then you cannot produce players. That is where the next generation of talent comes from,” he said.
Mikel highlighted the careers of Nwankwo Kanu, Austin Jay-Jay Okocha and himself as evidence of the importance of Nigeria’s youth pathway. “I came through that system. Kanu Nwankwo did too, and Jay Jay Okocha as well. All of us came from there,” he said.
He also held up Morocco as an example Nigeria should follow, pointing to the North African nation’s academy network and recent youth-team success. “Look at Morocco today: their structure, their academies, their under-17 achievements. Things are working for them. You have to build from the foundation, beginning with the under-17s, and we have failed to do that,” he said.
Mikel said football authorities should place people with both playing knowledge and administrative understanding in influential positions.
“There must be changes, and they should be driven by people who understand football, have played it and know how it should be managed,” he added. “That is why I have mentioned Jay Jay Okocha and Kanu. At some stage, in one role or another, these people need to be involved.”
