Ebi Egbe calls for fresh leadership to revive Nigerian football

Ebi Egbe has urged Nigeria to bring new leadership and ideas into football as pressure grows for the removal of the Ibrahim Gusau-led Nigeria Football Federation board. He said the country’s game needs a clear break from the people he believes contributed to its current difficulties.

Egbe called on the Chairman of the National Sports Commission to avoid bringing back figures who have previously been rejected or played important roles in creating the present situation. He warned that Nigerians would resist any attempt to recycle familiar names while expecting a different outcome.

The Monimichelle Sports Infrastructure Limited chief executive said Nigerian football requires fresh thinking, professional management and a new direction. Egbe is also a FIFA-certified groundsman, while his company works in stadium turf construction.

His intervention comes after a difficult period for the country’s leading national teams. The Super Eagles have failed to qualify for two consecutive FIFA World Cups. The Super Falcons were eliminated in the quarter-final stage of the WAFCON 2026 and also missed qualification for next year’s Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

Egbe described the two successive World Cup failures as particularly damaging and said the administration of Nigerian football must now be reset. He argued that national teams performing well on the international stage unite supporters beyond ethnic and religious differences.

He called for credible, competent and committed Nigerian football stakeholders to be considered for any new structure created to run the sport. In his view, those selected must have the ability and commitment to help rebuild the country’s football rather than represent a return to the existing approach.