For a country that has traditionally expected its two senior national teams to be present at the biggest football tournaments, the double failure has become a major talking point.
The calls for the resignation of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President Ibrahim Gusau have grown louder following the Super Falcons’ failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
For many Nigerian football supporters, the 2-1 defeat to South Africa in Thursday’s decisive play-off in Morocco was more than another disappointing result. It was the latest setback in a period that has left questions about the direction of the country’s football administration.
The defeat ended Nigeria’s enviable record of qualifying for every edition of the Women’s World Cup since the tournament began in 1991.
South Africa and Ghana have advanced to the FIFA Inter-Confederation Play-Off Tournament, while Nigeria’s qualification campaign is over.
And with the NFF election less than two months away, attention has quickly shifted from the pitch to the leadership of Nigerian football.
‘He should resign’
On social media, some Nigerian supporters have called on Mr Gusau to step aside rather than seek another term.
One supporter, posting as @SarkinFoto, said the NFF president should submit a resignation letter instead of an apology.
“The NFF President needs to tender a resignation letter before daybreak and NOT an apology letter,” the supporter wrote.
Ben Marke was similarly blunt.
“In a sane society this guy ought to resign and apologize for wasting our time,” he posted.
Another supporter, @Weirdmaskman NG, questioned why Mr Gusau would remain in office after the latest setback.
“You don’t even have to clamour for his resignation. A responsible person would read the room and call it quits while he’s behind,” he wrote.
There were also stronger reactions.
“He should face jail time not just resign, very corrupt and incompetent NFF president,” wrote @Martins7906202, while The Beautiful Bald Man described Gusau as “grossly incompetent” and called for him to leave.
Olatunji Balogun was more direct in his submission.
“If FIFA wants to ban Nigeria the time is Now Because Gusau Must Go,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
These comments mirror the views of many other Nigerian football fans whose frustration is understandable in the context of the series of disappointments in the country’s football space.
For the second consecutive edition, Nigeria failed to qualify for the men’s FIFA World Cup after losing to DR Congo on penalties in the African play-off final in November 2025.
Nigeria will therefore miss both the men’s and women’s World Cups at the same time for the first time.
For a country that has traditionally expected its two senior national teams to be present at the biggest football tournaments, the double failure has become a major talking point.
Gusau defends NFF’s preparation
Before the decisive match against South Africa, Mr Gusau had already faced questions about the NFF’s preparations for the Super Falcons.
Speaking with reporters in Morocco, the NFF president defended the federation’s efforts to provide the team with competitive matches.
“Well, we are doing our best. You know, sometimes people just like to talk anyhow,” he said.
Mr Gusau pointed to the Falcons’ friendly matches against Cameroon as evidence of the federation’s preparations.
“If you can remember, between the period of November and March this year, we made the Super Falcons have a friendly match with the Cameroonian national team in Nigeria and in Yaoundé. And then, just about two months ago, we tried to organise a friendly match for them against the Senegal national team,” he said.
He also defended the decision to focus on African opposition rather than arranging matches against European teams.
“We are coming for an African tournament. Nobody should expect us to go and arrange a match for the Super Falcons against Norway or Sweden or what have you. We need to look at a competitive team from the African continent because we expect that along the line we can meet them and see what happens. At the end of the day, we met Cameroon,” he said.
According to Mr Gusau, arranging international friendlies for women’s teams in Africa comes with its own challenges, particularly the cost of moving teams around.
The NFF president also warned against what he described as uninformed criticism.
“So, people can talk anyhow, not mindful of what they are saying. But, as I have said earlier, we just want you to be patient with us, and we are very sure that, by the grace of God, the girls have now gained their strength and they will make a squad, and we’ll take it from there.”
The South Africa defeat, however, has given those earlier comments a new context, with critics now questioning whether the preparations were adequate to achieve the desired result.
A record of missed opportunities
The criticism of the NFF leadership goes beyond the two senior teams.
The Golden Eaglets have failed to qualify for three successive FIFA U-17 World Cup editions despite being five-time world champions at the level (the most successful team in the world).
With the Flying Eagles’ impending absence from the next Africa U-20 Nations Cup, hopes of featuring at the next U-20 World Cup is also in jeopardy.
