The Nigeria Football Federation will take full blame for the Super Eagles failure to qualify for the 2015 African Cup of Nations, according to NFF President Amaju Pinnick.

“The NFF takes full responsibility for what has happened,” he was quoted as saying by africanfootball.com.

“It is a tragedy for us to come so near and yet fail to reach the finals. We made so much effort and sacrifice in Congo to achieve the victory we needed there on Saturday and really had no business bungling it here.

“However, our commitment is to build a sustainable football culture in the country and nothing has changed. This is a disappointment but for us, we gave it our best shot and supported the team fully.”

The defending champions finished third in Group A of Afcon qualifying after they could only force South Africa to a 2 - 2 draw in Uyo on Wednesday.