By Aderonke Ojo
The Super Eagles may have resumed training in Rabat after calling off their strike on the eve of Thursday’s decisive World Cup play-off against Gabon, but the scars from their brief mutiny may already run deep. If history is any guide, Nigeria could once again be walking a familiar and treacherous path.
For over four decades, every major episode of player unrest or bonus-related strike within the Nigerian national team has been followed by defeat, heartbreak, and shattered World Cup dreams.
The pattern is so consistent it has become a grim omen one that may now hover over the current squad.
The first such crisis dates back to October 1981, when internal wrangling over bonus payments tore through the squad ahead of a must-win clash with Algeria.
Foreign-based players, promised ₦5,000 each a hefty sum when the naira was stronger than the dollar found themselves resented by home-based teammates demanding equal pay.
The dispute fractured team unity, and Nigeria fell 2–0 in Lagos before losing 4–1 on aggregate in Constantine, missing out on the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
Eight years later, in 1989, déjà vu struck. Camped at Lagos’ Durbar Hotel (now Golden Tulip), the Super Eagles refused to board their flight to Yaoundé until their bonuses were paid.
The scheduled 10 a.m. departure was delayed until 4 p.m., and the disjointed side went on to lose 1–0 to Cameroon a result that snuffed out hopes of reaching Italia ’90.
Fast-forward to France ’98, where the Super Eagles once again made global headlines for the wrong reasons.
On the eve of their Round of 16 clash against Denmark, players threatened to boycott over unpaid allowances.
Heated negotiations stretched into the early hours of match day, leaving the team drained and distracted. The outcome was another disaster a 4–1 loss that ended their campaign.
The curse resurfaced in Brazil 2014. Just like Ghana, Nigeria’s squad boycotted training before their Round of 16 game against France, forcing government officials to fly in a plane-load of cash to placate the players. Despite the last-minute intervention, the Eagles crashed out 2–0.
Now, as Nigeria braces for Thursday’s high-stakes showdown against Gabon, the echoes of those past crises are impossible to ignore. The strike may have been called off, but the psychological damage and disrupted preparation could once again prove fatal.
If the past is any indication, history has a habit of reappearing whenever the Super Eagles’ focus shifts from football to finances.
And unless something extraordinary happens in Rabat, Nigeria may be about to relive one of its oldest and most painful footballing patterns.
| Date/Year | Incident | Outcome |
| October 1981 | Boycott before final World Cup qualifier vs Algeria | Lost 4–1 on aggregate; missed Spain ’82 |
| 26 August 1989 | Refusal to board plane to Yaoundé over bonuses | Lost 1–0 to Cameroon; failed to reach Italia ’90 |
| 27 June 1998 | Bonus row before Round of 16 vs Denmark | Lost 4–1; crashed out of France ’98 |
| 28 June 2014 | Boycott of training before Round of 16 vs France | Lost 2–0; eliminated from Brazil 2014 |