The former international has sounded the alarm over Nigeria’s youth football decline while blasting the country’s stakeholders for poor planning and politics
Former Barcelona and Sporting Lisbon winger Emmanuel Amuneke has issued a damning verdict on the state of Nigeria’s youth football, describing the system as ‘a failure,’ Soccernet.ng reports.
Amuneke expressed deep concern over what he sees as a collapse in structure and vision, warning that the nation’s footballing future is under serious threat.
The Heartland FC head coach, who guided Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets to FIFA U-17 World Cup glory in 2015, said the current decline in youth football stems from poor planning and political interference within the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
His comments come amid disappointing results across all national youth teams, both male and female.
Nigeria’s U-20 men’s team, the Flying Eagles, crashed out of the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile at the second-round stage, as Morocco went on to lift the trophy.
The U-17 boy’s side, the Golden Eaglets, also failed to qualify for the 2026 edition of the tournament after losing to Ghana in the WAFU-B Cup semi-finals, a defeat that also cost them a spot at next year’s U-17 AFCON in Morocco.
At the ongoing FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, the Flamingos were beaten 4-1 by Canada in their opening match on Sunday and must now beat France on Wednesday to stay alive in the competition.
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Amuneke: Nigeria compromised hard work for prayer
For Amuneke, these repeated disappointments are symptoms of deeper systemic decay.
“A nation that fails to develop its youth football is a failure,” Amuneke told The PUNCH.
“I don’t know why they suddenly believe they will win because we have prayed, because when you compromise hard work to pray, then nothing will happen.”
He continued: “When other nations are busy developing their young ones, the ones that will take over in the next five years, we are busy here playing politics. These are the reasons for the failures of these youth teams.”
Amuneke, who featured prominently for Nigeria at the 1994 AFCON and World Cup, believes the raw talent is still there but laments the lack of proper developmental structures.
The 1994 African Footballer of the Year credited his own early progress to the late Yemi Tella, a coach who gave him opportunities to grow as a youth player.
“I came through that rank of playing from youth even when I was in school; I was playing for a club because I was given the opportunity by late coach Yemi Tella,” Amuneke revealed.
“We have players; Nigeria has never fallen short of players. If you develop what you have, you can see them start playing, but when you don’t believe in your youths, how do you expect them to play? Spain believe in their youths, they develop them and give them that opportunity to grow.”
Despite not winning the U-17 World Cup in the past decade, Nigeria remains the most successful nation in the tournament’s history with five titles. The Flying Eagles also reached the final of the U20 World Cup twice, the last time being 20 years ago.