Penultimate week, the last two Nigerian clubs in CAF inter-club competitions, Rangers International Football Club of Enugu and El Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri crashed out of the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup respectively. It was a  painful night for Nigerian football as Enugu Rangers surrendered a 2-0 first-leg advantage to lose 3-0 to MC Alger, exiting the CAF Champions League 3-2 on aggregate.

El-Kanemi Warriors on the other hand, fell 2-0 to Raja Casablanca, bowing out of the CAF Confederation Cup 4-2 on aggregate after a late heartbreak. Sadly, no Nigerian club will feature in the group stage of either competition this season. A disappointing outcome for Nigerian club football.

Former Nigeria international Bob Osim has criticised the country’s football system, arguing that poor planning, inadequate preparation and a lack of innovation are contributing to Nigerian clubs’ declining fortunes in African competitions.

Osim said the problem extends beyond individual coaches or club management, pointing instead to systemic shortcomings. “Our system is regressing, instead of progression. We are not ready yet. It is not about the coaches, it is not about the management; it is about the system. The sporting system in Nigeria is very, very bad.”

He argued that while other countries are embracing new ideas and adapting their football structures, Nigeria has failed to make comparable progress.

“People are trying to grow, people are innovating, people are bringing new dimensions, doing everything to change their football system, but in our own case, we are just stagnant,” he added.

Corroborating what the former international said, coach Yemi Olanrewaju blamed the Nigeria’s domestic football structure, poor infrastructure, lack of strategic preparation, and widening financial gaps compared to what obtains in North African and some West and South African heavyweights as responsible for the dismal performances of Nigerian clubs against their counterparts from those countries.

Olanrewaju who is Rivers United assistant coach and former coach of Enyimba Football Club of Aba noted that he had previously warned about the structural and financial gaps between Nigerian clubs and North African powerhouses, only to be dismissed as making excuses. He also pointed out that budget sizes, training facilities, and operational standards in Nigeria lagged far behind continental competitors.

This has resulted in a recurring psychological and tactical vulnerability where Nigerian teams consistently squander first-leg advantages or concede decisive late goals in North Africa (mirroring historical collapses like Rangers’ 1976 defeat to MC Alger).

This has raised serious concerns over how these back-to-back early exits will damage Nigeria’s CAF coefficient and league standing.

Points are only earned once a team reaches the Group Stage or further. Teams knocked out in the preliminary or early qualifying rounds (like the Nigerian clubs this season) receive 0 points.

To reward recent consistency over historical performance, CAF multiplies the points earned in a season by a coefficient based on how recent the tournament

To find a country’s total ranking score, CAF adds together the weighted points of every club from that country over the 5-year cycle.

The top 12 countries in the final standings are granted the maximum 4 slots (2 in the Champions League, 2 in the Confederation Cup). Associations ranked 13th and below only get 2 slots total (1 in each tournament). This is why early exits severely damage a country’s long-term football advantages.

Ranking threat: Nigeria’s 12th-place spot (19 points) in the CAF inter-club association rankings is under immediate threat from Libya (13th with 15 points), whose remaining side (Al Ahli Tripoli) is still active in the Confederation Cup.