Niccolò Machiavelli, a Florentine diplomat, author, philosopher, once postulated, “The end justifies the means”, arguing that if a goal is morally important enough, any method of getting it is acceptable.
Going by this premise, it can be said and rightly too that Nigeria’s football had a successful year in 2024. The year was a hugely successful one for several Nigerian football players in both the men’s and women’s categories.
Ademola Lookman, the Atlanta and Nigeria Super Eagles superstar led the path finishing 14th in the Ballon d’Or rankings in 2024. Lookman scored three goals and provided one assist at the AFCON, helping Nigeria reach the final.
The Nigerian winger clinched the most glamorous footballing awards in the continent by winning the CAF POTY prize.
The 27-year-old triumphed over tough competition from Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi, Guinea’s Serhou Guirassy, Ivory Coast’s Samuel Adingra, and South Africa’s Ronwen Williams to claim the coveted honour.
After years of CAF POTY award drought, fortune smiled on Nigeria again with back to back wins in 2023 by Victor Osimhen and Lookman in 2024
Chiamaka Nnadozie, the Super Falcons and Paris FC goalkeeper was another standout Nigerian player who clinched a prestigious award in 2024.
Nnadozie, who helped Nigeria to qualify for their first Olympic Games since 2008, carried her exceptional form into her club performances.
Her heroics with Paris FC were instrumental in the team securing a spot in the UEFA Champions League. Her exceptional performance earned the CAF Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year award, an award she won back-to-back, having emerged the winner in 2023.
The Super Falcons were named the Women’s Team of the Year at the 2024 CAF Awards, marking their second consecutive win in this category.
This award further solidified the Nigeria’s dominance and excellence in African football when it comes to women football.
Similarly, in the 2025 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup, the Falconets beat Venezuela 4-0 in their final Group D match. This win advanced Nigeria to the knockout rounds for the 11th time in their history.
No doubt, the 2024 calendar year proved to be remarkable for Nigeria’s men’s and women’s national football teams, as well as for individual players who achieved personal milestones.
In FIFA latest rankings, Nigeria’s Super Eagles finished 2024 as the fifth-best team in Africa. The men’s team could be said to have their biggest achievement of the year by reaching the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire.
While for the Super Falcons, the team will look back on securing qualification for their first-ever Olympic Games since 2008 as their crowning moment.
William Troost-Ekong, the captain of the Super Eagles was named Player of the Tournament at the 2023 AFCON. His performances also earned him a nomination for FIFA’s 2024 Best XI.
Victor Boniface also won the German Bundesliga title with Bayern Leverkusen.
However, in face of these accolades, the inability of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to manage the resources available through proper planning, good organisation and administration is where the country is still lagging behind.
Despite the individual successes, football loving Nigerians are hoping a system that will enable the country discover and develop more Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Chiamaka Nnadozie, and William Troost-Ekong, among others.
It must be noted that if Nigeria fails to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup the aforementioned successes will amount to nothing.
Hence, the NFF must rise to the challenge before it, and ensure our flag is raised in the United States, Canada and Mexico World Cup come 2026.
Nigeria has the talents and financial resources, all the people are asking for is proper management of the human and material resources, and the Super Eagles will land one of the nine automatic tickets for Africa at the 2026 World Cup.
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