Nigeria sacks Madugu after…

The Nigeria Football Federation has terminated the contract of Super Falcons coach Justine Madugu and his entire technical team, effective immediately, only days after Nigeria’s historic failure to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time. A task force has been established to investigate the reasons behind this failure.

In addition, the federation is under scrutiny regarding its leadership and the forthcoming elections scheduled for September.

“The Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation has directed the technical crew of the @NGSuper_Falcons to resign immediately,” the federation announced on social media on Monday.

This marks a sudden conclusion to Madugu’s time in charge, which included leading Nigeria to a record-extending 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title and being named Coach of the Tournament by CAF. He took over the Super Falcons on an interim basis in September 2024 following the resignation of American Randy Waldrum and successfully guided the team through their WAFCON campaign in Morocco the following year.

However, the national team’s fortunes took a downturn during this year’s WAFCON, which also served as Africa’s qualifying event for the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

Nigeria failed to make it to the semifinals, losing out on one of the four automatic World Cup spots for Africa, and subsequently lost 2-1 to South Africa in the playoff for a place in the intercontinental playoffs. This defeat marked the end of the Super Falcons’ record streak of qualifying for every Women’s World Cup since the tournament’s inception in 1991.

In response to the disappointing outcomes, the NFF has initiated an investigation, forming a fact-finding committee to analyze the alleged poor performances of Nigeria’s national teams, specifically focusing on the Super Falcons’ World Cup elimination.

NFF president Ibrahim Gusau launched the committee on Monday, giving it a two-week timeframe to present its findings.

“You are tasked with investigating the immediate and underlying causes of the national teams’ recent poor performances, with particular regard to the unexpected failure of the Super Falcons to qualify for the World Cup,” Gusau stated. “You will have two weeks to complete your work and submit your report.”

“We have established this committee in the belief that you will propose solutions to the current issues, drawing on your extensive experience in various aspects of Nigerian football.”

The committee is headed by former NFF general secretary Fanny Amun, who also coached Nigeria to victory in the 1993 FIFA Under-17 World Cup. It includes former Super Falcons captain Desire Oparanozie, former Super Eagles captain Mutiu Adepoju, Nigeria Football Coaches Association president Ladan Bosso, and former FIFA referee Alex Mana.

Amun indicated that the committee would engage with individuals connected to the issues and would be open to submissions from the public.

“We regard this as a vital national duty,” Amun said. “Approaching this task half-heartedly is not an option. We must fully commit ourselves to this process and deliver a report that all stakeholders in Nigerian football can take pride in.”

Meanwhile, the NFF is facing increasing pressure of its own.

As reported by Nigeria’s Guardian newspaper, officials from the National Sports Commission are contemplating asking President Bola Tinubu to approve a plan that could effectively delay next month’s NFF elections and appoint a normalization committee to govern for three months instead.

The NFF elections are scheduled for September 27 in Lafia, Nasarawa State, with preparations already in motion. The Guardian, citing an anonymous source, stated that while the NSC initially favored allowing Gusau to run for reelection, the series of qualification failures by Nigeria’s national teams has prompted the government to reconsider.

The Guardian also reported that in a bid to avert a potential FIFA suspension due to third-party interference, the NSC has informed FIFA of the possibility of a normalization committee and is seeking an opportunity to discuss this with President Tinubu. However, no NSC official has publicly confirmed the plan to The Guardian.

A senior NSC official did confirm the essence of The Guardian’s report to ESPN on Monday.

“While nothing is official at this point, this reflects the direction the NSC and government are contemplating,” the source stated. “The core of the report is accurate.”

Any implementation of such a committee would necessitate FIFA’s involvement and approval. According to Article 8.2 of the FIFA Statutes, the FIFA Council Bureau can appoint a normalization committee to manage the affairs of a member association under exceptional circumstances.

Such committees are typically appointed by FIFA in coordination with the relevant continental confederation, ensuring that appointed members undergo eligibility checks. Thus, FIFA and CAF, rather than a national government acting independently, would need to be involved in establishing a normalization committee for the NFF.

FIFA has previously initiated normalization committees in several African associations, including Congo DR, Guinea, and Tunisia, to handle various governance or electoral challenges and to organize elections.