NFF sacks Madugu, entire Super Falcons coaching crew after WAFCON failure

The Nigeria Football Federation has sacked Justin Madugu and the entire Super Falcons technical crew following the team’s failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, Made In Africa Sport reports.

The NFF Executive Committee asked members of the technical crew to step down with immediate effect, according to a statement published on the federation’s official X handle on Monday.

https://x.com/thenff/status/2089401804777779350?s=20

The decision comes after a disappointing WAFCON campaign that culminated in Nigeria’s historic failure to qualify for the Women’s World Cup for the first time.

Nigeria were beaten 2-1 by South Africa in a play-off at the WAFCON in Morocco, ending their hopes of reaching next year’s tournament in Brazil.

The setback marked a dramatic fall for the continent’s top-ranked women’s side, who had entered the competition as favourites to retain the title.

The Super Falcons, however, endured a difficult campaign from the group stage, suffering a defeat to Malawi before being eliminated by Cameroon in the quarter-finals.

With the four semi-finalists guaranteed qualification for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, Nigeria were handed one final opportunity to keep their hopes alive through a play-off.

However, the defeat to South Africa in Casablanca ended their hopes and brought an end to Nigeria’s remarkable record of appearing at every edition of the Women’s World Cup since the inaugural tournament in China in 1991.

The failure is a major blow for a side that has dominated women’s football in Africa for decades.

The Super Falcons have won the WAFCON a record 10 times and have traditionally been regarded as the continent’s leading women’s national team.

The NFF’s decision to demand the technical crew’s departure therefore represents the first major step in what is expected to be a wider overhaul of the national team following the disappointing campaign.

The federation had already inaugurated a fact-finding committee to investigate the factors behind the recent struggles of Nigeria’s national teams, with particular attention to the Super Falcons’ failure to qualify for the Women’s World Cup.

The committee, chaired by Ambassador Fanny Ikhayere Amun, has been given two weeks to investigate the circumstances surrounding the setback and submit its recommendations to the NFF.

The decision to remove the technical crew comes as the federation considers a fresh technical direction for the Super Falcons and seeks to establish the reasons behind the team’s poor performance in Morocco.

The NFF is now expected to determine the next steps regarding the appointment of a new technical setup, with further details expected in the coming days.

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