Nigerian actor and senior pastor of The Fountain of Life Church, Jimmy Odukoya, recently went viral on X (formerly Twitter) after a video of him praying for the Super Eagles surfaced online.
In the trending clip, Odukoya well known for his passion for football led a prayer during a church service, asking God to help the Nigerian national team secure a spot at the 2026 World Cup scheduled to take place in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
“That World Cup, we must enter. God no go shame us,” he prayed, as the congregation echoed their agreement.
However, after Nigeria crashed out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup African playoffs losing 4–3 on penalties to DR Congo on Sunday, November 16 the video reappeared on social media, sparking fresh reactions.
Responding to the resurfaced clip, popular X influencer OurFaveOnlineDoc criticised Odukoya, saying he had invited unnecessary ridicule by offering prayers “over a useless football game.”
“Pastors who do things like this only attract mockery,” the influencer wrote, adding, “God is not a football punter.”He wrote:
“Making such ‘prayers’ about a useless football game will only set you up as a laughingstock when the ‘prayer’ fails as it has clearly done in this regard. It is irreverent to turn a church into a comedy arena for granting football wishes and present God like a genie that decides outcomes of football games. In the end, doing things like this only makes Christianity look like a circus performance of delusional clowns. God is not a football punter. Let’s leave him out of such ephemeral ridiculousness. I say this with very huge due respect. I really love PJ but this was so heartbreaking to watch.”