Chelsea Legend Mikel Obi Lists Issues That Could Cost Super Eagles AFCON Title, Slams NFF

• Super Eagles legend John Mikel Obi has mentioned issues that can prevent Nigeria from winning the AFCON 2025
• Nigeria is aiming to win their fourth continental title, after failing to qualify for the World Cup
• The three-time will fly out to Morocco on December 18, aboard a chartered flight to begin full preparations

John Mikel Obi has raised concerns over the Super Eagles’ level of preparation ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

Nigeria suffered a 2-1 defeat to the Pharaohs of Egypt in a pre-AFCON friendly at the Cairo International Stadium on Tuesday, December 16.

The hosts opened the scoring in the 27th minute through Mahmoud Saber before Super Eagles defender Chigozie Awaziem equalised just before halftime. Mostafa Mohamed restored Egypt’s lead in the 53rd minute to seal the win, per SofaScore.

The Super Eagles were without key players Victor Osimhen of Galatasaray and Paris FC winger Moses Simon for the encounter.

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The warm-up match was initially scheduled for December 14 but was rescheduled after FIFA extended the release of players from their clubs by one week, per Yahoo Sports.

Before the friendly, Nigeria played World Cup playoff matches against the Panthers of Gabon and the Leopards of DR Congo last November.

Mikel Obi slams NFF

Chelsea legend John Mikel Obi has criticized the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for the inadequate preparation leading up to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

According to OwnGoal, the former Super Eagles captain stated that he expected the NFF to present concrete plans after the country failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico. Obi said:

“Sincerely, I am not impressed at all with the level of preparation. After everything that happened with the World Cup qualifiers, you would expect things to be better.”

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The 2013 AFCON winner proceeded to list conditions that could hinder Nigeria from winning the 35th edition of the continental showpiece. He said:

“How do the authorities owe a coach money at this crucial stage? It is shameless and this is not how serious football nations operate.

“When issues like this are in the public space, it affects everyone including the coaches, players, and even the fans.

“The AFCON was supposed to be the time to save face and show the world that lessons were learnt, instead, it’s the same story again. You can’t go into the AFCON with unresolved problems. Everything must be sorted now.

“Nigeria deserves better. Our football deserves better. Administrative issues have often affected the country’s team, leading to disgraceful pay strikes overseas.”

Nigeria petitions FIFA over Dr Congo

Legit.ng earlier reported that the NFF general secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, confirmed that the federation has petitioned FIFA over the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DR Congo) alleged use of ineligible players during the recent African World Cup playoffs.

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Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle comes under fire from Dutch manager ahead of 2025 AFCON

Nigerian officials accused DR Congo of deceiving FIFA into clearing some foreign-born players to represent the country.

Source: Legit.ng