Former Nigeria coach, Adegboye Onigbinde has attributed the elimination of the Super Eagles from the 2012 Afcon to a faulty football structure in the country.

Onigbinde, a Caf instructor, told SuperSport.com that the failure of the Nigerian men’s national team to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations is “unfortunate.” But the Fifa technical advisor pointed out that the lack of a developmental plan for Nigeria’s football is one of the major reasons for the dwindling fortune of the sport in the West African nation.

“I cannot imagine that we will not be at the Nations Cup,” Onigbinde began. “It is so unfortunate that the team will not be at the Nations Cup and that affects me as a Nigerian I must be sincere with you.

“But the present scenario tells you a lot of what has happened to our football over the years. Our best footballing years are behind us. We have failed to build on our successes in the past because we are always in a hurry to win everything, and we missed putting up developmental plans in place.”

Onigbinde also pointed out that the problem with Nigerian football can be traced to the stakeholders.

He also questioned the non-existence of a technical department in the football house, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

“I remembered when I was appointed coach in 1982, a group of ex-international players stood up to question my appointment, but later they found out about my track record. The truth is the technical department of our football has been toyed with over the years and that is why we have seen this drop in the game in this country,” Onigbinde said.

However, the former 3SC sole administrator proffered that Nigeria can start a long-term developmental plan from the home front.

He pointed out that “development of the game should take place from the grassroots to the league.”