Reasons why Nigeria and other African nations win age-grade competitions but not senior national team competitions, in the midst of the 2023 FIFA Under 17 World Cup in Indonesia.
When it comes to the FIFA Under 17 World Cup, Nigeria continues to be the nation with the greatest success.
Five times, African nations have advanced to the FIFA Under-20 World Cup final; in 2009, Ghana won the world championship.
Nigeria, the country with the largest population in Africa, has won the FIFA Under 17 World Cup five times (1985, 1993, 2007, 2013 and 2015).
Brazil, who have won it four times (1997, 1999, 2003, and 2019), is behind them.
Ghana, their equivalent from West Africa, has won it twice, in 1991 and 1995.
Argentina will play Germany in the semi-final match of the ongoing FIFA World Cup for under-17 players, while Mali will play France.
In the 2015 edition, Mali came in second place and lost to the winner, Nigeria.
Even though Nigeria and other African countries have accomplished many remarkable things in age-grade contests, it has so far been nearly difficult for them to have a significant influence in the senior FIFA World Cup competitions.
No African team has advanced past the semifinals since the competition’s founding in 1930 (Morocco 2022).
In the quarterfinals, teams like Ghana (2010), Senegal (2002), and Cameroon (1990) were all eliminated.
African heavyweights like Nigeria and Egypt were not even able to make it to the previous FIFA Senior World Cup in Qatar, which Argentina, captained by Lionel Messi, won after defeating France in the championship match.
Nigeria and other African nations are still licking their wounds from their inability to achieve spectacular success in the FIFA Senior World Cup events. Sports analyst Stanley Smart revealed on Monday the reasons behind the continent’s persistent underperformance.
Additionally, Smart provided an explanation for why African teams—and Nigeria in particular—have performed well in previous age-grade FIFA World Cup events.
“In the past, African teams—and Nigeria in particular—performed well at age-grade FIFA World Cup competitions because school contests, inter-school competitions, the Principal’s Cup, and Academicals were all running well at the grassroots level.
People start participating in sports at a young age. But as of right now, none of these things exist.
“Because, in my opinion, Nigeria won the Under 17 World Cup the last time an African nation did it, which was in 2015—more than eight years ago.
This indicates that the largest mistake made by Nigeria and Africa was not making enough investments in grassroots initiatives. Lately, Nigeria has been absent from the age-group contests. They were not even allowed to compete in the ongoing Under-17 World Cup.
That indicates that there is a problem with the way football is run in Nigeria. Appointing the right individuals to oversee football in Nigeria is imperative.
“Those in charge of overseeing football in the nation must rekindle people’s interest in the game and get kids and young people back into it.
“Observe the current state of the senior national squad, the Super Eagles. I hate to tell you this, but they will not be able to qualify for another World Cup if they don’t wake up and elevate their performance.
“Take Morocco, for instance. They performed admirably in the most recent senior World Cup held in Qatar, reaching the semifinals.
Their success demonstrates the money they have put into grassroots initiatives to develop football and find players who are now competing on the greatest platforms.
Football facilities abound in European nations including Belgium, France, England, and Croatia.
“These facilities give these nations a center for football development, ensuring that coaches and players are trained from an early age.
“These players are already experienced in the game by the time they reach adolescence.
Nigeria and all of Africa are deficient in this area. Consequently, the continent is unable to progress at a higher level.
Having stated that success will eventually materialize if the proper conditions are met.
“Because I know that many talented people, like [John] Mikel Obi, [Kelechi] Iheanacho, and [Victor] Osimhen, who signed good contracts in Europe, were helped by age-grade competitions,” he said.
It won’t be simple because they will play France, who have been great in the competition thus far, Smart said in response to the question of whether Mali can make Africa proud this time around as they aim to surpass their best (runner-up) in the competition.
However, I’m pulling for Mali to defeat France and go to the championship game. It’s going to be a challenging and intimate experience,” he continued.