The Nigeria Football Federation has asked members of the Super Falcons’ technical crew led by coach Justine Madugu to step down with immediate effect following the team’s disappointing outing at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and subsequent failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
This also comes in the wake of the controversy rocking the NFF ahead of their elective congress scheduled for September 27 in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
The federation announced the decision in a brief notice published on its official social media platforms on Monday.
Stepping Down
“The Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation has asked members of the technical crew of the Super Falcons to step down with immediate effect,” the notice read.
Madugu, who came under criticism following the Falcons’ opening-day defeat to Malawi, was in charge when the team won a record-extending 10th WAFCON title in Morocco last year. He worked alongside former Super Falcons goalkeeper Ann Chiejine and other members of the backroom staff.
However, the Falcons failed to replicate their success in Morocco this year, suffering their worst outing in the competition in recent history.
The Super Falcons failed to reach the semi-finals for the first time, a result that denied them an automatic ticket to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
They were handed another opportunity to secure a World Cup place through the play-offs but lost 2-1 to South Africa last Thursday, ending their hopes of qualifying for the tournament and missing out on the World Cup for the first time since its inaugural edition in 1991.
The NFF also inaugurated a fact-finding committee on Monday to investigate Nigeria’s recent setbacks in international football.
Committee
The committee is headed by former international, Fanny Amun. Other members are former Super Falcons captain, four-time Women’s AFCON winner and FIFA World Cup star Desire Oparanozie; former Super Eagles captain, AFCON gold, silver and bronze medalist and FIFA World Cup star, Mutiu Adepoju; former Nigeria U-20 coach and President of the Nigeria Football Coaches Association, Ladan Bosso; and former FIFA referee and former Head of the Department of Management Studies at the National Institute for Sports, Dr Alex Mana.
Former Nigeria international and Deputy Director in the NFF Technical Department, Nasiru Jibril, is the secretary.
The Falcons’ failure follows the Super Eagles’ back-to-back absences from the FIFA World Cup in 2022 and 2026, with embattled NFF president Ibrahim Gusau charging the committee with finding the root causes of Nigeria’s dismal performances in international competitions in recent times, with particular reference to the Falcons’ ouster.
“You are to probe into the direct and remote causes of the poor outings of the National Teams in recent times, but with specific reference to the unexpected failure of the Super Falcons to qualify for the World Cup. You will have two weeks to do the job and submit your report,” Gusau said in a statement released by the NFF.
“We have composed this committee believing that you will come up with solutions to the present malaise, having played crucial roles in the Nigeria game in one way or the other for a very long time.”
The development leaves the NFF with the immediate responsibility of finding a new technical direction for the Super Falcons, particularly with the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic qualifying campaign approaching.
Nigeria’s Olympic qualification campaign is scheduled to begin in October 2026, with the Super Falcons set to face Comoros.
Before then, the NFF has set September 27 for its elective congress in Lafia, Nasarawa State, although the process is being challenged by legal battles arising from the previous election in 2022, as well as concerns raised by stakeholders over the performance of the Gusau-led board.
The NFF’s decision to remove the Falcons’ technical crew comes after Madugu had previously been retained to lead the team following the departure of Randy Waldrum. The federation’s newly inaugurated fact-finding committee has been given two weeks to investigate the causes of Nigeria’s recent international setbacks.
Credit: punchng.com
