World Cup
2026 FIFA WORLD Cup: Guild of Sports Editors calls for NFF Board, Finidi resignation
Following the poor run of the Super Eagles in the 2026 World Cup qualifying series, the Guild of Sports Editors in Nigeria has asked the board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to be ready to resign Nigeria fail to make it to the finals.
It will be the first back-to-back miss of the World Cup by the Super Eagles since 1994.
Should the board also heed the call for resignation, it will be the second time ever that all members of the Nigerian football governing body will leave enmass. On 27 November 1964, all members of the then NFA resigned.
In a media release issued by the head of the guild, Tony Ubani, the body viewed with dismay the poor performance of the Super Eagles.
It added that it is unacceptable that Nigeria is struggling in fifth position in a group that comprises Lesotho, Rwanda, Benin Republic, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
According to the media release from the body which comprises all the managers of sports departments in the country’s major media organizations, the resolution was the product of its meeting on Tuesday.
The Guild said that although the situation in Group C looks irredeemable after four games, Nigeria could still qualify for the World Cup if the NFF puts its house in order.
In a communiqué signed by its president, Mr Tony Ubani, the Guild said: “We are shocked by the manner Nigeria’s bid to return to the World Cup after missing the 2022 edition is being mismanaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) through wrong and belated decisions and inability to set the rules for the national team.
“The NFF waited until just a month to the resumption of the qualifiers before naming a coach through a process flawed by many stakeholders because it did not follow due process.
“They kept quiet when some of the members of the new technical crew rejected their appointments; they have not shown leadership even when some of the players rejected invitation to the national team.
“Now is not the time to apportion blames, but the NFF must know that Nigerians cannot tolerate failure to qualify for the World Cup, especially now that Africa’s slot has been increased to nine countries.”
The Guild called for a complete overhaul of the NFF’s technical department, saying that the committee should contain only football persons with sound technical knowledge of the game.
“The technical department is supposed to be the engine room of the federation, which should direct what happens at the national teams. It is not a place for politically-correct individuals who know little or nothing about the game.”
The editors lamented that Nigeria could only secure three out of 12 available points after four matches to languish in fifth position in Group C, saying that such poor form could have been avoided if the relevant persons did their jobs properly.
To arrest the situation, the body urged the NFF to scout for more corporate support for the Super Eagles, saying that the federation should spread its net to generate the resources that would aid its preparations for the remaining matches in the qualifying series.
It added: “The NFF must change its priority and take the national teams as the first among its responsibilities. The practice of packing the country’s delegation to matches with states’ FA chairmen and nebulous stakeholders, who add nothing to the Super Eagles, must be stopped. Monies saved from estacodes that are paid to these ‘stakeholders’ should be used to address issues in the national team, including remuneration for assistant coaches.”
The body also urged the NFF to check the way players are invited to the national team, saying that most of the players in the current Super Eagles’ squad have no place in the team.
“Some of the players are no longer relevant in the Super Eagles; their cycle is done. The entire Super Eagles system needs an overhaul and those officials, who have nothing more to add to the team, should go.
“The NFF should also investigate the players’ attitude to these qualifiers to find out if their output is a form of protest. We say this because some players can do anything to sack the coach if they don’t like him.
“So going forward, the NFF must ensure that only players willing to serve the country are invited to the national teams. It is embarrassing to see players pulling out of national assignments. It suggests that the NFF did not do its homework before inviting such players to camp.
“The NFF must also ensure that going forward players do not stroll into camp two days before any match. There must be a timeline for players to join the camp and appropriate sanction for anybody that flouts that timeline.”
On the technical crew, the editors said that Coach Finidi George has failed to galvanise his players to serve the country to the best of their ability, adding that Skipper William Troost-Ekong, who was left out of the last two games, should be brought back to offer leadership to the squad.
World Cup
Paraguay bans Lionel Messi and Argentina jerseys at stadium ahead of World Cup qualifying clash
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni is confident there will be Lionel Messi jerseys in the home section despite the Paraguayan Football Association’s (APF) ban on rival shirts ahead of Thursday’s South American World Cup 2026 qualifier.
Argentina will play Paraguay at the Defensores del Chaco stadium in Asuncion on Thursday, and APF manager Fernando Villasboa warned the home crowd to wear only Paraguayan shirts as no jerseys from Argentina, Argentine clubs or clubs that contain the names of players from other countries will be allowed.
“We won’t allow the other team’s shirt. It’s not a problem against Messi. We respect the careers of all footballers. It’s just that the home ground is very important to us,” Villasboa told local press on Wednesday.
Paraguay coach Gustavo Alfaro said: “I have nothing to do with the t-shirt ban. I had no idea about that. I think the idea is to reduce the margin of a possible source of conflict.”
“Messi is our rival tomorrow, I wish him the best game of his life against Peru, but not tomorrow,” he added.
However, Scaloni said the global impact of Argentina’s number 10, the country’s all-time leading scorer and World Cup winner, is far greater.
“Logically, for the Paraguayan footballer, for the fan, they all want to wear the national team shirt. But Leo (Messi) is stronger than all that and there will be Argentina shirts,” Scaloni told a news conference on Wednesday.
“It doesn’t mean they don’t support Paraguay. I think it’s good that football people recognise what he is. And it’s not because you have a shirt that you become an Argentina fan.
Argentina sit atop the South American standings on 22 points, three clear of Colombia. After the Paraguay match, they will host Peru on Nov. 19.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has congratulated Donald Trump ahead of his return as US President.
The 2026 World Cup will be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This marks a return to North America for the first time since 1994.
Infantino met Trump multiple times during his first presidency to discuss the World Cup, as well as talking about opening FIFA headquarters in the USA – which they did in 2023.
‘Congratulations Mr President!’ Infantino wrote on Instagram on Wednesday morning.
‘We will have a great FIFA World Cup and a great FIFA Club World Cup in the United States of America! Football Unites the World!’
The 2026 World Cup will be groundbreaking for a new format which has provoked much discussion.
There will be a massive expansion and revamp to the tournament, with 48 teams (up from 32) – the three host nations and 45 qualifiers – playing 104 matches (up from 64), significant increases of around 50 per cent.
That growth means a longer tournament and more and earlier/later matches every day in the US, Canada and Mexico.
The first four tournaments in 1930, 1934, 1938 and 1950 had between 13 and 16 countries competing, rising to 16 from 1954, 24 for Spain 1982 and 32 for France 1998, where it has remained since.
FIFA president Infantino was elected on a pledge to create a 40-team World Cup.
He insisted the £825million extra income and £530m extra profit this move is expected to create will trickle down to grassroots football, rather than lining the pockets of the fat cats at the very top.
‘Increasing the size of teams which can participate will increase the investment in football development, to make sure that the teams can qualify,’ he said.
The Trump administration promised back in 2018 that there would be no discrimination against fans from any country wanting to visit the World Cup.
His own level of engagement with football or ‘soccer’ is unknown, but he did, rather bewilderingly, help in the Carabao Cup draw in 1991 on the Saint & Greavsie show.
There will be 12 groups of four teams. That necessitates a massive number of extra games (104), rather than the 80 there would have been with 16 groups of three.
The European Club Association did not support the move because of fears of the effect a significantly bigger and longer tournament would have on squeezing domestic fixtures for clubs.
The 2026 tournament is set to continue for 39 days, a week more than in 2010, 2014 and 2018 and 10 days more than in Qatar, which will squeeze domestic campaigns. In 2018, countries had 25 days between the end of the domestic season to prepare for the start of the tournament. For 2026, that period is just 16 days.
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Politics and sports have become inseparable, especially at major international sports events. So, it has come to be. Donald Trump whose government in 2018 spearheaded the ‘United’ bid of the US, Canada and Mexico for the 2026 World Cup hosting will be in power when the event kicks off.
It was a remote thought that Trump would occupy the White House in 2026 when the US spearheaded the World Cup bid. His presidency, in worst-case scenario, was expected to end this year if he had secured a second term in 2020.
He lost the return which he has now reclaimed after the defeat of Kamala Harris. As it has turned out, Trump triumphed in instances he contested against women.
First, it was Hillary Clinton in 2016 and now Kamala Harris in 2024. And so, the hope for the first American woman president is further delayed.
Trum will cap his presidency with the hosting of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
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