- Nigerian actor and senior pastor Jimmy Odukoya has gained attention on X (formerly Twitter) after a video of him praying for the Super Eagles went viral.
- In the video, Odukoya leads prayers during a church service.
- He prayed that the Nigeria national football team would qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Nigerian actor and senior pastor of 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 viral video, Odukoya, who is known for his passion for football, leads a prayer during a church service asking God to help the Nigerian national team qualify for the 2026 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
“We have to go to that World Cup. God don’t humiliate us,” He prayed, and the congregation echoed his prayer.
However, the video resurfaced on social media on Sunday, November 16, prompting fresh reactions after Nigeria lost 4-3 on penalties to the Democratic Republic of Congo in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Africa play-offs.
Reacting to the resurfaced video, popular X influencer OurFaveOnlineDoc criticized Odukoya, saying he was “praying for a useless football match”, inviting unnecessary ridicule.
“Pastors who do such things only invite ridicule,” the influencer wrote, adding, “God is not a football gambler.”He wrote:
“To ‘pray’ for a useless football game like this only makes you a laughingstock when the ‘prayer’ fails, which it has clearly done here. It’s disrespectful to turn a church into a comedy stage for football wish fulfillment and treat God as a genie who decides the outcome of football games. In the end, doing so just makes Christianity look like a delusional clown’s circus act. God is not a football gambler. Let’s keep him away from this fleeting absurdity. I have a lot of respect for PJ, but this is heartbreaking.”
See the post below:
Read some of the comments below:
@thinklikelay: “Is it that deep?”
@the_oddmind: “I was offended yesterday when I saw a senior pastor using Sunday services to do frivolous things. Is there no one more qualified to lead this church than the founder? God exists, prayer works, but God cannot be taken lightly.”
@Danielbeloved28: “Priests turn the altar into a huge party to demonstrate pathetic stupidity.”
@NigVoteWatchers: “Even if it was just a joke, or some harmless display of passion and sportsmanship, it still ended in ridicule. It became an unnecessary distraction from any solid sermon or worship moment taking place in church that day.”
@LaVidaMercy: “You’re absolutely right. When pastors start praying about football scores like God is some football referee, they turn the entire church into a comedy skit. It’s embarrassing and demeans the faith. This kind of drama just makes Christianity look unserious.”
@chemy393: “This is why I can’t take some pastors seriously, they are just a complete joke.”
