By Samuel Olusegun Precious
Once again, the story is familiar and embarrassing.All four Nigerian clubs have crashed out of CAF competitions before the group stage. Enugu Rangers surrendered a 2-0 first-leg lead to lose 3-0 to MC Alger in Algiers on Friday, exiting 3-2 on aggregate. Hours later, El-Kanemi Warriors conceded two late goals to Raja Casablanca in Morocco to lose 2-4.
Earlier, Rivers United and Shooting Stars had already been eliminated in the first round.No Nigerian club will play in the group stage of either the Champions League or Confederation Cup this season.
For a giant of African football, that is a disgrace.This is not bad luck. It is structural failure.
Why We Keep Failing:
1. Budget vs Budget: As Rivers United assistant coach Yemi Olanrewaju said bluntly this weekend: “We don’t have what it takes to compete… Our budgets, facilities and level nor reach those people.” A North African club budgets $8-10 million per season. An NPFL club budgets less than $500k, and still owes salaries.
2. No Continuity: We win the league, then sell our best 5 players. In Egypt and Morocco, they keep them, add three quality foreigners, and go to war.
3. No Facilities: Rangers had to play their “home” leg in Abeokuta, not Enugu. No club owns a CAF-approved stadium with VAR, floodlights, and proper pitch. We train on bad pitches and expect to win in Casablanca.
4. Poor Calendar and Governance: Our league starts late, stops for elections, stops for no reason. Players are not fit when CAF prelims start in August. The NFF and NPFL have no 5-year development plan.
5. CAF Ranking Danger: Nigeria is currently 12th in the CAF 5-year ranking with 19 points – just one spot above the cut-off. Top 12 nations get 4 slots. If this continues, we will be cut to 2 slots – one in Champions League, one in Confederation Cup. That is how Ivory Coast, Tanzania and Angola overtook us.
What Must Be Done:1. Privatization is Non-Negotiable: State governments must sell clubs. Rivers United, Rangers, Shooting Stars, El-Kanemi cannot survive on government subvention that comes 6 months late. Allow private investors with tax incentives.
2. Minimum Licensing Enforcement: NFF must enforce Club Licensing – no audited account, no youth team, no women’s team, no standard stadium, no continental ticket. No more waivers.
3. Create a Football Development Fund: 10% of Bet sponsorship, TV rights, and transfer levies should go into a central facility and youth development fund.
4. Fix The League Calendar: Align NPFL with CAF calendar (August-May). End the abridged leagues and emergency congresses.
5. Invest in Youth: Enyimba, Remo Stars, Beyond Limits have shown that academies work. Mandate every Premier League club to run U15, U17, U20 with proper coaching education.
North Africa is not doing magic. They invested in facilities, kept players, and professionalized. Morocco has 8 FIFA-standard academies. We have zero.Until we reform, we will gather here every October to write this same obituary.
The Super Eagles may mask our decay, but club football is the true measure of a football nation. And right now, we are failing.Time for the Sports Commission, NFF, and club owners to stop the press statements and start real reform.
REMINISCENCES
1988: The Year Nigeria Conquered Africa, But Africa Conquered Nigeria
38 years ago, Nigerian club football was at its peak.We had two CAF competitions then:
1. African Cup of Champions Clubs (today’s Champions League)
2. African Cup Winners’ Cup (today’s Confederation Cup)Nigeria’s representatives reached
BOTH finals.Iwuanyanwu Nationale (now Heartland FC of Owerri) – Champions Cup Final:Owner: Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu – just bought the club from Imo State Government as Spartans FC in 1985.
Coach: The Brazilians tour in 1986 had built them. Players: Thompson Oliha, Benedict Iroha, Uche Okechukwu – future Super Eagles legends.How they got there: Beat Requins de l’Atlantique (Benin), Tonnerre Yaoundé (Cameroon) 4-3, Africa Sports (Ivory Coast) 3-2, and FAR Rabat (Morocco) on penalties 5-3 after 5-5 aggregate in the semi-final.Final vs Entente de Sétif (Algeria):
First Leg: Nov 26, 1988, Liberty Stadium, Ibadan – Iwuanyanwu 1-0 Sétif. Goal by… crowd of 25,000.
Second Leg: Dec 9, 1988, Stade 17 Juin, Constantine, 55,000 hostile fans – Sétif 4-0 Iwuanyanwu. Aggregate 4-1. We lost.Ranchers Bees of Kaduna – Cup Winners’ Cup Final:Ranchers Bees were the FA Cup holders. A powerhouse bankrolled by Alhaji Mukhtar Aruwa.Path: Beat ASFAG Guinea, Ferroviário Angola, Inter Club Congo, and beat Inter Club 2-1 in semi.Final vs CA Bizertin (Tunisia):
First Leg: Kaduna – 0-0
Second Leg: Bizerte – CA Bizertin 1-0 Ranchers Bees. Aggregate 1-0. Lost by one goal.So in one month, Nigeria lost two continental finals by a combined 5-1.Why 1988 Matters Today:In 1988, Nigerian clubs were privately funded (Iwuanyanwu, Leventis, Abiola Babes, Ranchers Bees, BCC Lions) – not state government departments. They kept players for 4-5 seasons, went on tours to Brazil, and had identity.That model produced results: From 1984-1990, Nigerian clubs reached 6 CAF finals in 7 years:
1984 – Shooting Stars lost Champions Cup final to Zamalek
1985 – Leventis United lost Cup Winners Cup final to Al Ahly
1988 – Iwuanyanwu + Ranchers Bees double loss
1990 – BCC Lions won Cup Winners Cup (actually 1990 final played in 1990 vs Club Africain) – our only win in that era
1991 – BCC lost final to Power Dynamos.
Today in 2026, we can’t even reach the group stage.1988 teaches us: When Nigerian clubs were private, ambitious and well-funded, we reached finals. When they became government parastatals begging for subvention, we started losing in the preliminary round.
From NPFL To Sudan – Why Nigeria’s Best Players Now Run To “Poor And War-Torn” Leagues
Nigeria’s league is no longer losing its stars to Belgium and Portugal. We are now losing them to Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Libya, and Kenya – countries that 10 years ago came to Nigeria to buy players.This is how far we have fallen.
The New Exodus – Examples From Last 12 Months:
Sunday Adetunji – Former Plateau United and Rivers United striker, one-time Super Eagle. Last played for KF Shkupi in North Macedonia where he scored 20 goals. In 2026, he moved to Al-Hilal Omdurman, Sudan – a country in active civil war. He has now switched international allegiance to Sudan to play for their national team.
Victor Mbaoma – Top scorer for Remo Stars last season, 14 goals. Left NPFL for Tusker FC, Kenya, then previously APR FC, Rwanda. He was the league top scorer in Rwanda.
Wisdom Ndon – 22-year-old Plateau United central defender, one of the best in the league, valued at €200,000. Two weeks ago, he left Jos for Olympic Azzawiya SC, Libya – another war-torn nation.
Kazeem Adeyanju – Plateau United midfielder, left on free transfer to Stellenbosch FC, South Africa. He is the 5th Nigerian at the club.Shooting Stars’ Best Two: Last season’s break-out stars, Ayobami Junior (Super Eagles Unity Cup squad) and Tijani Al Ameen, have left for clubs in Algeria and Zimbabwe. No transfer fee announced.
As Nigerian Observer newspaper wrote this month: “The NPFL is now a feeder league for the continent’s smaller leagues. We pay our champions peanuts.”Why Are They Leaving?
1. Salary Insanity:An NPFL star earns N150,000 – N400,000 per month (90-250). And that is owed for 3-4 months.Rwanda: APR FC pays 2,500-4,000 per month, on time, with house and car.
Tanzania: Simba SC and Young Africans pay 5,000-10,000.Sudan: Al-Hilal and Al-Merreikh pay 3,000-6,000, in dollars, even in war.Libya: Clubs pay in dollars, 3,000-5,000.As Sunday Oliseh said: “Even if it’s $1,000, if you multiply by Naira, it’s a lot. When we were playing, there was never one month they owed us.” Former Super Eagles striker Eddie Dombraye added: “You cannot blame players for accepting offers. Football is what he uses to pay his bills.”
2. Free Transfer Culture – Clubs Make Nothing:NPFL clubs don’t sell, they lose players for free. Because contracts are weak, sign-on fees were abolished, players keep their clearance papers. So when Ndon moves to Libya, Plateau United gets nothing. When Mbaoma moves to Kenya, Remo Stars gets nothing.NPFL Chairman Gbenga Elegbeleye admitted: “Nigerian players have moved abroad for €20,000 or €40,000. We want €500,000 to €1m.” But without proper contracts and data, we cannot.
3. No Future:In Tanzania and Rwanda, players are on TV every week, league has data, scouts from Europe watch Simba vs Young Africans. In NPFL, only 2 games are on TV, no data, no insurance.
The Consequence:That is why we crashed out of CAF competitions on Friday. Rangers and El-Kanemi lost to North African clubs who kept their players for 3 years. Our clubs had to rebuild with 12 new players because their best left for Sudan and Rwanda.You cannot build a continental contender when your league is a bus stop where players wait for the next bus to Kigali or Khartoum.
Solution – 3 Urgent Steps:
1. Minimum Wage Enforcement: NFF must enforce N1m minimum monthly salary for Premier League clubs, paid through bank, with insurance. If you can’t pay, don’t be in NPFL.
2. Enforce Contracts: Abolish free transfer culture. All players must be on 2-year minimum contracts with transfer clauses. 30% solidarity fee to academy and parent club.
3. Privatize: Government clubs must be sold. A serious private owner will not let his best asset walk away for free to Libya.Until then, expect more headlines: “NPFL Top Scorer Joins Club In War-Torn Sudan.”We used to export to Europe. Now we export to everyone, because we have made home unbearable.
