President Bola Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive overhaul of Nigerian football, citing the country’s repeated failures to qualify for major regional, continental and global competitions.

The President directed the Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC) to work with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) secretariat and other key stakeholders to develop far-reaching reforms covering governance, administration, representation, player development, domestic competitions and accountability.

Tinubu said the reforms were necessary to address what he described as longstanding structural weaknesses undermining the development and performance of Nigerian football.

“Football, Nigeria’s most popular sport and the greatest beneficiary of public support, investment and national attention, has continued to struggle basically due to structural deficits within the system,” he said.

The President said Nigeria could no longer afford to allow its enormous football talent, passion and resources to remain unmatched by institutional performance.

He stressed the need to transform Nigeria’s football potential into stronger institutions and sustained success on the international stage.

Under the proposed reforms, the NSC chairman is expected to ensure continuity in essential football administration while leading a broad-based consultation involving football stakeholders across the country.

The reform agenda will focus on strengthening the governance and administration of the sport, improving pathways for player development, revitalising domestic competitions and establishing stronger mechanisms for transparency and accountability.

Tinubu also directed that the process include appropriate engagement with the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF), while ensuring Nigeria continues to comply with its international football obligations.

The move comes against the backdrop of growing concerns over the decline of Nigerian football and the country’s inability to consistently translate its deep pool of football talent into success at major competitions.

Nigeria’s national teams have faced a series of setbacks in recent qualification campaigns, intensifying calls for fundamental changes to the way football is governed and developed in the country.

Tinubu urged football stakeholders and Nigerians to support the reform process, saying the objective was to build a more efficient, transparent and accountable system capable of delivering sustained success.

The President’s directive could pave the way for one of the most significant institutional reviews of Nigerian football in years, with governance, development and accountability now firmly at the centre of the reform agenda.