John Obi Mikel, a former captain of the Super Eagles, has launched a scathing attack on Nigeria’s preparation for AFCON 2025, accusing the Nigeria Football Federation of neglecting to organize its affairs just weeks before the competition starts.
Mikel expressed his displeasure with the quality of preparations for the finals in Morocco, which begin on Sunday, on his ObiOne podcast. At such a delicate time for Nigerian football, he questioned how a national team coach could still be entitled to compensation.
“The preparation doesn’t impress me at all. Mikel, who has called for the resignation of the NFF board after Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, stated, “You would expect things to be better after everything that happened with the World Cup qualifiers.”
“How do you currently owe money to a coach? It’s so blatant! This is not the way serious football countries function. Everyone is impacted when problems like this arise in public, including the coach, players, and even spectators.
“This was meant to be an opportunity to demonstrate that lessons were learnt and preserve face. Rather, it is the same tale once more. You cannot bring unsolved issues to the AFCON. Now everything needs to be resolved. Nigeria is worthy of better. We deserve better for our football.
According to reports, the NFF owes Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle three months’ worth of salary and bonuses before the 2025 AFCON.
Shehu Dikko, the chairman of the National Sports Commission, reportedly disclosed on Monday that the commission had intervened to pay Chelle’s salaries even though it was not a party to his contract.
“Even though we’re not a party to the contract, the NSC has been paying the salaries of Eric Chelle (Super Eagles coach) on behalf of the NFF,” Dikko stated on Arise Television. “We are supporting the NFF in this way.”
Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, and Tanzania will compete in Group C at AFCON 2025. Nigeria’s first match against Tanzania is set for December 23 in Fès.
The Super Eagles’ only pre-AFCON friendly, which took place on Tuesday in Cairo, ended in a 2-1 loss to Egypt. This set them up for the competition.
