Nigeria Football Federation given 24-hour resignation deadline after national-team failures

A fresh crisis has engulfed the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) after an Arise News report claimed the Federal Government had given the board led by Ibrahim Musa Gusau 24 hours to resign.

The reported ultimatum follows the Super Falcons’ disappointing 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign and comes amid mounting criticism of the NFF’s record across Nigeria’s senior and youth national teams.

Nigeria’s most damaging setback came in the men’s game, when the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

They finished second in Group C behind South Africa, ending the qualifying campaign with 17 points – one fewer than the group winners. Nigeria had opportunities to improve their position but dropped points in crucial matches, including a 1-1 draw with Zimbabwe in Uyo.

The Eagles were given another route to the World Cup through the African play-offs. They defeated Gabon 4-1 after extra time in the semi-final in Rabat, but their campaign ended in the final against DR Congo.

The match finished 1-1 after extra time before DR Congo won 4-3 on penalties. Timothy Fayulu saved two attempts in the shootout.

As a result, Nigeria missed the World Cup for a second consecutive edition. The NFF subsequently lodged a complaint with FIFA over the eligibility of a DR Congo player, but the appeal did not alter Nigeria’s absence from the tournament.

The Super Falcons then suffered a further setback in Morocco.

Nigeria arrived at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations as defending champions and had won the competition 10 times. However, their title defence ended in the quarter-finals when Cameroon defeated them 1-0 in Casablanca on 9 August.

Myriam Maeva Nyadjou scored the only goal in the 19th minute, while Cameroon goalkeeper Michaely Bihina made eight saves to preserve her side’s advantage.

The defeat sent Nigeria into a World Cup play-off, where South Africa won 2-1. That result denied the Super Falcons a direct qualification place for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Nigeria will therefore miss the Women’s World Cup in Brazil for the first time since the competition began in 1991.

The NFF apologised to President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian public before appointing a fact-finding committee chaired by former NFF general secretary Fanny Amun. Super Falcons head coach Justine Madugu and his assistants were dismissed soon afterwards.

The decline has also affected the Golden Eaglets.

Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2025 U17 AFCON after Ghana won their WAFU B semi-final 2-0 in Yamoussoukro. That defeat also ended Nigeria’s hopes of reaching the 2026 FIFA U17 World Cup.

It was the second successive U17 AFCON for which Nigeria had failed to qualify. The absence is particularly significant because the Golden Eaglets are five-time winners of the FIFA U17 World Cup.

The senior NFF officials named in the report are Ibrahim Musa Gusau, the federation’s president, Felix Anyansi-Agwu, the vice-president, and Dr Mohammed Sanusi, the general secretary.