The Super Falcons of Nigeria will have a new technical crew in place before their 2028 Women’s Olympic qualifying campaign kicks off in October, National Sports Commission (NSC) Director-General, Bukola Olopade, has disclosed.
This comes after the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) asked Justine Madugu and his backroom staff to step aside following the team’s underwhelming showing at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.
Nigeria crashed out of the tournament early, losing 1-0 to Cameroon in the quarter-final. That defeat also cost the Falcons automatic qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, after they fell 2-1 to South Africa in the CAF play-off.
Following the NFF’s decision, several members of Madugu’s technical crew also left their roles, among them former Super Falcons goalkeeper, Ann Chiejine, goalkeeper coach Auwal Makwalla, video analyst Igor Krulj, and fitness coach Per Karlsson.
Restructuring underway
With the Olympic qualifiers drawing close, the NSC and NFF are now working to restructure the team and bring in new technical leadership.
Olopade said the authorities are committed to seeing Nigeria qualify for the Olympics.
“The Olympics are around the corner, we will see how we can tweak the technical team of the Falcons like we did for the U-23, which coach Eric Chelle will handle. This is because we are desirous of qualifying for the Olympics,” he said.
The Super Falcons made their return to women’s football at the Olympics at Paris 2024 after a 16-year absence, but were knocked out at the group stage.
What’s next
Nigeria’s next assignment comes in October, when they face Comoros in the Olympic qualifying series.
Comoros reached the second round after a lopsided 30-0 aggregate win over Sudan, winning the first leg 17-0 on June 3 before finishing off the tie with a 13-0 victory five days later.
The NFF is now under pressure to name a new coach and technical team capable of steering the 10-time African champions through the Olympic qualifiers.
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