According to former Nigerian football player Augustine Okocha, better known by his stage name Jay-Jay Okocha, the sport started to deteriorate following the 2002 Nations Cup. In an interview with Femi Soneye on The Exchange, Okocha made the remarks while talking about the difficulties Nigerian football faces. “From your own perspective, what do you think is the problem with Nigerian football?” inquired Soneye. Where did we make a mistake?”Well, I think it’s a lack of consistency,” Okocha retorted. I believe that after the 2002 Nations Cup, Nigerian football began to deteriorate. Some of us were called back after the team was dismantled. And I believe that the team I played for at the 2002 World Cup was the weakest, even though I know some people may not be pleased with me. We made it out of our group and won our group at the last World Cup. However, after the squad was dissolved, about 70% of its members departed. Don’t get me wrong, Nigeria has had some excellent players who have won tournaments since then, but I believe that consistency has been absent. With that conviction, we no longer win games.However, you always lose when athletes are at home. We turned our house into a stronghold, yet now it seems like we are weak there. Therefore, I believe it was the beginning of the issue. Teams are now searching for opportunities to play Nigeria; previously, nations were afraid to play Nigeria.
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