'It has been a disappointing year for Nigerian football' - Kanu Nwankwo

Former Super Eagles captain Nwankwo Kanu has emphatically declared that Nigerian football in the out-going 2014 was a total failure, especially, when put side by side with 2013.

Kanu who spoke to Sports Vanguard in a telephone chat insisted that there is no need for anybody to pretend that the country got it right the way its football fared adding that his greatest regret was the failure of the Super Eagles to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament holding in Equatorial Guinea.

“It is quite clear and we don’t need to shy away from the fact that Nigerian football did not fare well in the outgoing year. This is as a result of the Super Eagles failure to qualify for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations holding in January 2015 in Equatorial Guinea. So if we are not featuring among the best football-playing countries in Africa, it simply means that something is wrong with our football this year.

“Honestly we didn’t do well in the game this year; it’s just the honest truth. There is nothing good to write home about as regards the senior national team of Nigeria. Mind you FIFA rates our performance based on the Super Eagles performance and not the age grade competitions.”.

However, the former Arsenal of England forward said all hope is not lost as he believes that if the right things were put in place very soon, the country could re-launch itself to compete favourably among the comity of football playing nations. He particularly pleaded with all those involved in the crisis rocking the nation’s football to have a rethink in the overall interest of the nation.

“Yes it has been a disappointing year for Nigerian football but by God’s grace 2015 would be a new beginning for us. I sincerely pray that everybody involved in the entire crisis and problems that bedeviled Nigerian football in the year 2014 will sit back and look at themselves and have a rethink, have a change of mind and start working in earnest for the development of the game in the country”.

The Atlanta 1996 Olympic gold winner also used the opportunity to rally support for the National U-23 team, the Dream Team who will be playing to qualify for the soccer event of the forthcoming 2016 Olympic Games.