Why Nigeria flopped at CHAN – Ex-Super Eagles goalkeeper

Former Super Eagles and Moroka Swallows shot-stopper Greg Etafia has linked Nigeria’s latest African Nations Championship (CHAN) disappointment to the declining standard of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL), Soccernet.ng reports.

The CHAN is a biennial tournament organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) exclusively for players who play in their home country’s domestic leagues.

Nigeria reached the final in 2018 but have otherwise underperformed — and their struggles have continued at the ongoing edition, co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

The CHAN Eagles have already been eliminated from contention after losing their opening two matches in Group D — 1-0 to Senegal and 4-0 to Sudan — without scoring a goal.

They remain bottom of their group with zero points ahead of their final fixture against Congo on August 19.

Etafia believes such results are inevitable unless the NPFL becomes more competitive.

CHAN 2024: Sudan 4-0 Nigeria – Eric Chelle’s Super Eagles B dumped out in embarrassing fashion.#TotalEnergiesCHAN2024 #SDNNGA pic.twitter.com/h7htvmQtag

— Soccernet.ng (@soccernet_ng) August 12, 2025

Greg Etafia calls for NPFL to improve after Nigeria‘s poor CHAN showing

“You need to treat your local league very well, which is very important because that’s where you get a lot of talents who eventually move to Europe, North Africa, or the Southern region,” the 42-year-old said in quotes revealed by Brila.

The ex-goalkeeper highlighted that Nigerian clubs have struggled to make an impact on the continental stage in recent years, with most failing to reach the group phases of CAF competitions. He argues that this lack of exposure to elite African opposition has stunted player development.

“When clubs consistently compete in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup, the local league becomes stronger, as more teams aspire to reach that level. In the past five or six years, Nigeria has hardly made it to the group stages. That is the worst part,” Etafia added.

Etafia’s concerns are backed up by the unofficial global club rankings, which underline the NPFL’s low standing in world football. As reported by Soccernet.ng last month, Nigeria’s highest-placed team on July 14th was Remo Stars — ranked 900th in the world with an Opta rating of 71.7.

That position leaves them 55th among African clubs and well behind continental heavyweights from North and Southern Africa.