Nkechi Obi calls for homegrown Super Falcons after WAFCON 2026

Nkechi Obi has urged the Super Falcons to reduce their dependence on players born abroad after Nigeria failed to reach the semi-finals of WAFCON 2026 and missed qualification for the next global tournament. Nigeria finished first in the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 standings with nine points from three matches, winning all three and scoring eight goals while conceding four.

Obi, a former head of the Nigeria Women Football League, believes players born and developed in Nigeria would bring a stronger connection to the national team. She argued that local upbringing creates a deeper understanding of the country, its supporters and the responsibility attached to representing Nigeria.

Her position is not a call to exclude Nigerian players born overseas. Instead, she wants the national teams to stop treating foreign-developed talent as the main answer to their problems. Obi said the Super Falcons’ strongest periods came when more of the squad was playing in the domestic league.

She also identified grassroots participation and the standard of the domestic league as key areas for improvement. In her view, Nigeria needs a development structure that gives greater attention to the broad base of young players, allowing talent to emerge locally and reducing the need to look abroad for players.

Nigeria’s wider recent form has been mixed. The team lost 2-1 away to Portugal and drew 2-2 in Poland before recording wins over Jamaica and Zimbabwe, by 3-0 and 2-0 respectively. A 2-2 draw away to Jordan followed. That sequence contrasts with the perfect three-match AFCON 2025 record and underlines the uneven results surrounding the national teams.

Obi made the argument during the Hot Seat segment of Inside Naija Sports, where she also called for inward-looking solutions to Nigerian football’s setbacks. She said improving the domestic system would help retain talent at home and create national teams with stronger local roots.