A former Commissioner of Sports in Osun, Biyi Odunlade, on Tuesday, urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to continue to work on all its national teams ahead of future competitions.
The commissioner spoke against the backdrop of the inability of the home-based Super Eagles to qualify for the 2020 African Nations Championship (CHAN) billed for Cameroon.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Eagles lost 3-4 aggregate to the Hawks of Togo over two legs in the final round of the qualifiers.
Odunlade told NAN in Abuja that while Nigeria has a good track record on the continent, the home-based Eagles’ failure has come and should be taken in good faith.
“We cannot continue to be winning all the time. We have a good record when it comes to international football games, especially in Africa. But it is just the way things can go sometimes.
“By now, we should have been thinking of how we will be preparing for CHAN 2020. However, this has now not come to be.
“What it now means is that, in spite of our position in FIFA’s last ranking, where we are third in the continent and 34th in the world, Nigerian teams now need to play with seriousness and determination in
all their games,’’ he said.
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The former Sports Commissioner said Nigerians now need to be encouraging the home-based Super Eagles so that they would represent the country very well in future encounters.