{"id":32829,"date":"2026-04-23T12:58:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T10:58:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=32829"},"modified":"2026-04-23T13:11:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T11:11:30","slug":"nigeria-must-act-now-to-avoid-another-world-cup-failure","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/nigeria-must-act-now-to-avoid-another-world-cup-failure\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Nigeria must act now to avoid another World Cup failure\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"x_elementToProof\" data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Super Eagles striker Akor Adams has called for urgent action to rebuild Nigerian football following the country\u2019s failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026.<\/div>\n<div data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"><\/div>\n<div data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">He says it is time to move past disappointment and focus on responsibility, warning that another missed tournament in 2030 would deal a serious blow to Nigeria\u2019s football identity.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">Adams believes the focus should now shift towards long-term planning and consistent effort, rather than waiting for the next round of qualifiers.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">\u201cFor us, preparation cannot start when qualifiers begin. It has to be a daily commitment,\u201d he said, stressing that rebuilding must happen both on and off the pitch.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">Nigeria, a three-time African champion, has traditionally been a regular presence on the global stage, making its recent absence from the World Cup a major concern for players and supporters alike.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\">&#8211;ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/div>\n<div class=\"x_elementToProof\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":32830,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[20],"class_list":["post-32829","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-sport","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Akor Adams has called for urgent action to rebuild Nigerian football","published_date":"2026-04-23 12:47:54","news_description":"Akor Adams has called for urgent action to rebuild Nigerian football","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/32829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/32829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32832,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/32829\/revisions\/32832"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=32829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}