Sports Commission defends N6.44bn World Cup qualifiers budget

The National Sports Commission has clarified the allocation of N6.44bn in the 2026 budget for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, despite the qualifying campaign ending in 2025 and Nigeria failing to secure a place at the just-concluded tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico, Sunday PUNCH reports.

President Bola Tinubu presented a N58.18tn “Budget of Restoration” to a joint session of the National Assembly last year, with the sports sector emerging as one of the biggest beneficiaries. The National Sports Commission’s allocation rose by more than 300 per cent, from N78bn in 2025 to N203.6bn in 2026, to fund infrastructure projects and Nigeria’s participation in major international competitions.

Among the allocations was N6.44bn earmarked for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, despite the qualifying campaign ending in November 2025, a provision that later sparked public scrutiny and calls for clarification.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had led calls for a probe of the allocation, questioning why the provision remained in the 2026 Appropriation Act even though the qualifiers ended in November 2025.

Following public scrutiny and an inquiry by our correspondent, the NSC issued a statement explaining that the budget subhead for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers was rolled over from the 2025 budget into the 2026 fiscal year.

According to the commission, the Special (Presidential) Support Group for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers contained in the 2025 budget was inadequate, and the funds were not released, necessitating an upward review of the allocation to cover outstanding obligations, the African playoffs, a potential appearance in the intercontinental playoffs and other preparatory commitments.

“In line with the Federal Government’s directive for the rollover of all 2025 capital budget provisions into the 2026 budget across all MDAs, the unfunded provision for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers subhead was upscaled and rolled over into the 2026 budget so as to settle outstanding obligations, likely participation in the Finals of the FIFA World Cup Playoffs Tournament, and other preparatory obligations,” the NSC said in a statement obtained by our correspondent on Saturday.

At the start of 2025, Nigeria had six remaining matches to play in the World Cup qualifying campaign between March and October 2025 as well as two other matches in the African playoffs.

According to the NSC, the ₦6.44bn Special (Presidential) Support Group fund was designed to support and incentivise the qualification campaign.

“The NSC further reiterates that, as at October 23, 2024, when President Bola Tinubu, GCFR, approved and directed the restructuring and resetting of the sports sector, including the scrapping of the defunct Federal Ministry of Sports Development and replacing it with the National Sports Commission, the Super Eagles’ World Cup qualifying campaign was all but lost and in great jeopardy, with the team having polled only three points from a possible 12 points (three points from the first four matches) and languishing at the bottom of the qualifying table.

“Thus, one of the immediate proactive steps taken by the NSC in 2024 in respect of the World Cup qualifiers was the Special Support Group project for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers to coordinate, with all stakeholders and the NFF, the execution of the next qualifying matches. This ensured the Super Eagles were fully supported, both above and below the line, in the remaining qualifying matches, including the NSC directly paying the salary of the Super Eagles Head Coach up until today. This enabled the team to recover from the completely hopeless position of having only three points from a possible 12 points to gathering 14 points from the next available 18 points (14 points from the last six matches) to qualify for the African World Cup Qualifiers Playoffs Finals in Morocco, but unfortunately came up short via the lottery of penalties in the final match.”

Following Nigeria’s elimination by DR Congo in the African playoffs final in November 2025, the team went on to compete at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, where it finished third.

“This support to the team also transcended to provide the bedrock for the Super Eagles’ stellar performances at the last AFCON 2025/2026 in Morocco, where the team won the bronze medal, and indeed the obvious positive progression of the Super Eagles, to which all stakeholders have agreed is in the right direction and must be sustained so as to ensure better performances at the next AFCON (2027), Olympic Games (2028), and eventually the FIFA World Cup in 2030.”

While Nigeria missed out on the just-concluded World Cup, which was won by Spain, the NSC also stated that part of the ₦6.44bn allocation has been redirected to support Nigeria’s participation in other continental and global competitions.

“Following the conclusion of the World Cup qualification campaign and the confirmation that Nigeria will not qualify for the World Cup, with the legal process challenging the playoff loss before FIFA duly exhausted, the NSC engaged the relevant authorities from the National Assembly and the Budget Office and initiated the legally prescribed corrigendum process to amend the budget subhead dealing with the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in the 2026 Appropriation Act and redirect the provisions in the subhead to now include support for other national teams representing Nigeria at international competitions, especially at continental and global levels.”

The commission, which is currently coordinating Nigeria’s participation at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, said it remains committed to transparency, accountability and strict adherence to due process in the management of public funds as the foundation for sports development.(Punch)