By Aluwe Oduntan
One of the most frequent arguments surrounding Primate Ayodele’s prophecies about sports—especially football—is that the subject isn’t spiritual and that God isn’t interested in it. Many people perceive God as “too serious” to be concerned with football.
What many don’t realize is that football, which they see merely as a game, is actually a means of survival for thousands of people. It’s someone else’s profession, and several players engage in spirituality—either through God or other deities—just to ensure a flourishing career.
Several clubs and countries perform rituals with their players at the beginning of each season or tournament to ensure good outings. Yet, when it comes to God or prophecies concerning sports or football, people often find it hard to admit that God is fully involved and interested.
However, regardless of what anyone thinks, the ongoing World Cup qualifiers—particularly the fate of the Nigerian Super Eagles—have once again confirmed that God is interested in everything that concerns humanity, including football.
This was made evident through the spiritual intervention of Primate Ayodele, whose divine guidance has helped restore hope to the Nigerian Super Eagles even when it seemed the team’s chances of qualifying were slim.
When the going was tough some months ago, Primate Ayodele was the voice that gave direction to the NFF team on what to do to qualify. He assured them that the team could still make it and gave three spiritual directions—some of which proved helpful.
He warned against fielding William Troost-Ekong in the remaining qualifier matches in August and advised that a replacement should be found for goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. He stated clearly that nothing would stop the team from qualifying except disobedience to divine instructions.
These were his words:
“There is nothing stopping Nigeria from going to the World Cup, except they don’t listen. There are three things they need to do:
First, captain William Troost-Ekong should not lead the team in the remaining qualifiers.
Second, an alternative goalkeeper to Stanley Nwabali must be put in place.
Third, they must find another quality striker like Victor Osimhen and bring in five new Nigerian players into the squad.”
It would be recalled that during Nigeria’s qualifier match against South Africa, William Ekong’s own goal shattered Nigeria’s hope of securing a win, affecting the team’s chances of automatic qualification. Likewise, Nwabali’s errors almost cost the team its victory during the match against Lesotho weeks ago—just as Primate Ayodele had earlier warned.
Before the match against Benin Republic, the Super Eagles coach and the NFF heeded the prophet’s warning about not fielding Troost-Ekong, and the result was remarkable. The team defeated Benin Republic 4–0, marking Nigeria’s biggest victory so far.
Interestingly, before that match, Primate Ayodele led his church members in prayers for the Super Eagles during a service held at his Lagos church. The prophet once again emphasized his warning about the two players—especially William Ekong—and the outcome spoke for itself. Who then says football isn’t spiritual?
It is also noteworthy that the NFF President, Ibrahim Gusau, since assuming office, has recognized that football is spiritual. Despite being a Muslim, he listens to Primate Ayodele’s prophetic warnings. He has often credited his emergence as NFF president to the prophet’s ministry because, even before he decided to contest, Primate Ayodele had been speaking about him without any prior acquaintance.
Therefore, for those still doubting whether football is indeed spiritual, they should understand that it goes beyond physical activity. God is involved in every aspect of human life, and since football is a legitimate means of livelihood, it is certainly no exception.
