Ben Iroha, the former Nigeria defender and 1994 Africa Cup of Nations winner, has delivered a stark warning about the direction of Nigerian football, describing the country's recent run of qualifying failures as deeply troubling.

Iroha's alarm comes after a string of painful setbacks across age groups and genders. The Flying Eagles missed out on both the CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations and, as a consequence, the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup. The Super Falcons, meanwhile, failed to secure a berth at the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil — eliminated by Malawi in the quarter-final and unable to overturn their fate in a play-off against South Africa.

A pattern of painful misses

"As if that was not enough heartbreak, the Super Falcons lost the opportunity to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup to be held in Brazil," Iroha told Completesports.com in an exclusive interview. "Apart from the defeat to Malawi in the quarter-final, the Super Falcons failed again to beat South Africa in a World Cup play-off that could have given us a glimmer of hope."

The former defender was equally harsh about the Flying Eagles' campaign. "How could they have lost twice to Burkina Faso at such a crucial stage and by such embarrassing scorelines?" he said.

Nigeria risks watching every World Cup from the living room

Iroha drew a broader picture of Nigerian football's crisis, pointing out that the Super Eagles also missed the 2026 FIFA World Cup despite having a play-off lifeline. "Nigerians painfully watched the 2026 World Cup on television," he said. "We're going to watch the Women's World Cup, U-20 World Cup, and even the U-17 World Cup from the comfort of our living rooms. I can't believe this is happening to Nigeria, despite our huge talents."

His frustration was visceral. "It's heartbreaking. The Super Eagles didn't go to the 2026 World Cup even when they had the play-off opportunity to do so. Now, the Super Falcons aren't going to the World Cup even when the play-off presented a last-minute opportunity," he said.

Introspection the first step, Iroha says

Iroha — who also served as assistant coach of the Golden Eaglets when they won the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup — insisted that deep self-examination is the only starting point for recovery. "We need to sit down and find out what has gone wrong; where we've got it wrong; what we've not done that we should do," he said. "This is the first step. This trend can't continue."