According to the ex-Delta FA chairman, “We cannot afford any distractions, not from anywhere. We have an objective of qualifying for Russia 2018 and that is not what we can negotiate. That is one of the reasons I am in the office today. The Board has to look at various areas of the preparation as we countenance the draw for the group phase of the series that is coming up on 24th June in Cairo, Egypt.The three times African champions are in pot 3 with Congo Brazzaville, Morocco, Mali and South Africa, meaning these teams will avoid themselves in the qualifiers to be played in a mini-league format from October to November 2017.
The pot seeding was based on the FIFA rankings of the teams. Nigeria is currently 61st in the world and that's the reason for the seeding in pot 3.
The 20 teams for the draw will be divided into five groups of four teams with the winners of each group qualifying for Russia 2018.
Nigeria will be playing to qualify for a sixth World Cup after they featured at the 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010 and 2014 editions.
