It’s a blank canvas for African sports stakeholders to improve on the shortcomings of past years in 2025. Athletes, coaches, supporters, national bodies, and various sporting associations across the continent all have the opportunity to make the most of the tournaments that will dominate the year.

For Nigeria, the story isn’t any different. After a relatively poor collective outing in 2024, hopes are high for the country’s teams across all genders and sports to have a better outing in 2025. These hopes are heightened by the reinstatement of the National Sports Commission (NSC), which replaced the scrapped Ministry of Sports and Youth Development, which, in recent times, has been ineffective.

Nonetheless, the journey ahead for Nigerian sports contingents in 2025 and their likelihood of success depends on broader factors such as the tournaments’ demands, the teams’ strengths, competitors, and other dynamics. Taking these into account, Bounce Sports examines the outlook for Nigerian teams in the key competitions lined up for 2025.

2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 

The categorisation of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers as an African competition is debatable. But given that the qualifiers involve all African footballing nations striving to participate on the global stage, labelling it as such isn’t entirely off the mark.

After four qualifying matches, the Super Eagles of Nigeria face a herculean task to book their ticket to the football festival that’ll be hosted by Canada, Mexico, and the United States from June 11 to July 19, 2026. The three-time African champions sit fifth in a six-team group, having amassed just three points from a possible 12. With six matches left to play, Nigeria still has a shot at qualifying.

However, under the guidance of a new permanent head coach, Eric Chelle, who will make his debut in the upcoming qualifier against Rwanda in March, cautious optimism surrounds the team’s chances. The Eagles’ last match was a home defeat to their upcoming opponent, Rwanda,  in their final 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier in 2024.

In a new system and from a disadvantageous position, Nigeria’s chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup rest on a near-perfect campaign going forward.

2025 AfroBasket Women

If there’s any Nigerian team currently capable of making the country proud in their outings, it’s the women’s senior basketball team, D’Tigress. When the Rena Wakama-led ladies fly the country’s flag high at the 29th edition of AfroBasket Women in Côte d’Ivoire come July 2025, there’s an almost certain expectation they will become African champions, having won the tournament four times consecutively.

D’Tigress will head to the 2025 AfroBasket high on confidence bolstered by their historic quarter-final finish at the Paris 2024 Olympics and their record as four-time defending champions.

Meanwhile, the men’s senior team, D’Tigers, won’t be participating in the FIBA AfroBasket 2025 after administrative incompetence led to a dismal outing in the 2024 qualifiers.

2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON)

The Super Falcons of Nigeria, eleven-time WAFCON champions, will head into the 15th edition of the tournament from a relatively unfamiliar position of weakness.

Following their semi-final exit at the 2022 WAFCON, the Super Falcons — currently without a substantive head coach following Randy Waldrum’s departure in September 2024 — appear somewhat unsettled to aim for outright victory at the tournament in July 2025.

That said, the Falcons’ quality still makes them the benchmark in African women’s football. Considering their record of reaching at least the semi-finals in every WAFCON they’ve participated in, a podium finish is almost guaranteed at WAFCON 2025.

2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) 

Nigeria also has a stake in the CHAN 2024, the second-tier national team competition exclusive for players who compete in their countries’ domestic leagues.

The Super Eagles Team B missed CHAN’s last two editions but qualified for the CHAN 2024 by defeating arch-rivals Ghana 3-1 over two legs in the qualifiers.

Now drawn against defending champions Senegal, Sudan, and Congo, the Super Eagles Team B faces a tall order to improve on their runners-up finish in 2018. There’s ample time to prepare, considering the tournament — originally slated for September 2024 — was rescheduled to February 2025 and now August 2025. The postponements were meant to allow the host nations Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda to finalise infrastructure preparations, according to CAF.

AFCON 2025

The Super Eagles may or may not qualify for the 2026 World Cup, but their participation in the 2025 AFCON was confirmed last November after finishing top of their qualifying Group C with 11 points from a possible 18.

With the most valuable squad in Africa and a tactically astute coach whose style and tactics are expected to be well-engrained in the team dynamics before the competition starts in December, anything short of Nigeria winning the 35th edition of AFCON would be hard to justify.