PLAYERS and officials of the Super Eagles will meet with the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) this weekend to plan the successful execution of the country’s remaining 2026 World Cup qualifiers in September.
An official of the federation told The Guardian yesterday that the planned meeting will be held in Lagos during or before Skipper William Troost-Ekong’s celebrity charity game billed to be held at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, on Saturday.
With the theme “Play for Purpose,” the Troost-Ekong Foundation (TEF) show will bring together some of Africa’s biggest names in sports and entertainment to raise awareness and generate funds for TEF’s ongoing youth development programmes in education, healthcare, and grassroots sports.
But the NFF official, who pleaded anonymity, said the event would allow the federation to talk about the remaining World Cup qualifiers, which the Super Eagles must win to qualify for the championship after missing the last edition in Qatar.
“We met with the players during the friendlies in England and Russia, but with most of the players coming to Lagos for the Ekong game, the NFF felt it would be the right time to ensure that everybody is on one page for the challenges ahead.
“We expect the top officials of the federation, including the president, who went to the United States ahead of the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup, to have returned before Saturday,” he said.
Nigeria is placed fourth in Group C of the 2026 World Cup African qualifying series on seven points, with South Africa leading the group on 13 points.
Rwanda is second in the group on eight points, tied with third-placed Benin, while Lesotho (six) and Zimbabwe (four) make up the remainder of the log.
However, the picture could change significantly if FIFA ducks three points and three goals from South Africa, who fielded an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena, in their 2-0 win over Lesotho in one of the matches of the series.
If that happens, it means the Super Eagles have everything to play as they could overtake the Bafana Bafana with wins in their last two games of the series.
Nigeria will host Rwanda and play away to South Africa in September before the last set of games against Lesotho (away) and Benin Republic at home.
