Nigeria Misses World Cup, Yet NSC Budgeted ₦6.44bn for 2026 Qualifier Support Group

Secrets Reporters

Nigeria’s failure to secure a place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup casts a striking light on a ₦6.44 billion allocation contained in the 2026 budget of the National Sports Commission (NSC) for a special presidential support group established for the country’s World Cup qualifying campaign.

Perusing the budget of the National Sports Commission, a project titled “Special (Presidential) Support Group for 2026 World Cup Qualifiers” was pegged at ₦6,440,000,000 and classified as ongoing, under project code ERGP26233960.

This is surprising following Nigeria’s ultimate failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the fact that the Super Eagles did not feature at the tournament.

Nigeria finished second in Group C behind South Africa and subsequently entered the African play-offs in an attempt to keep its World Cup hopes alive. The Super Eagles defeated Gabon in the semi-final but were eliminated by the Democratic Republic of Congo in the final, losing 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

The failure made Nigeria miss the World Cup for the second consecutive edition, having also failed to qualify for Qatar 2022.

Despite the eventual failure to qualify, the NSC’s 2026 budget contains the ₦6.44 billion provision for the presidential support group. There was no provision contained showing a breakdown of how the money would be spent, the composition of the support group, or the specific logistics and activities to be financed under the allocation.

The ₦6.44 billion is also one of the largest individual allocations in the National Sports Commission Headquarters’ project schedule.

Other major provisions in the same budget include ₦14.2 billion for Nigeria’s participation in the 2025 African Nations Cup and African Women’s Nations Cup, ₦5.105 billion for Olympic preparations, ₦4.565 billion for NUGA Games, schools sports and the Principal’s Cup, and ₦4.135 billion for equipping and furnishing an anti-doping laboratory.

The document also provides ₦1.7 billion for the participation of Nigerian athletes and clubs in continental and international sporting events, while ₦1.5 billion is earmarked for international sports diplomacy and logistics support for Nigerian candidates seeking positions in international sports bodies, among other items.