The president of the Nigeria Football Federation, Ibrahim Gusau, and several board members have resigned following intense pressure over the poor performance of the country’s national teams.
The resignations come after the Super Falcons failed to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time, ending a run of continuous appearances since the tournament began in 1991.
The NFF board had faced mounting scrutiny, including investigations by the Department of State Services into the management of a N17 billion federal government intervention fund approved in 2024 for players’ wages and bonuses.
An authoritative source told Vanguard that the DSS review of documents related to the funds was standard procedure.
Eight of the 13 board members are reported to have quit their positions. The developments may affect the scheduled September 27 elections for a new NFF board in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles have also missed consecutive FIFA World Cups, adding to the criticism of the federation’s administration.
NFF board came under probe by security agencies including the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Department of State Services (DSS) over the (mis)management of funds released by the Federal Government for the national football teams.
Security agencies are investigating the NFF over the utilisation of the 17 billion naira Federal Government intervention fund released to the Federation for players’ wages and bonuses.
The fund was approved by President Bola Tinubu in 2024 to clear outstanding payments owed to Nigeria’s national teams.
Recall that the Super Eagles missed consecutive FIFA World Cups alongside the historic failure of the Super Falcons to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
The Super Falcons lost 1-0 to Cameroon in the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, WAFCON, quarter-finals, which ended their title defense and missed automatic World Cup qualification, subsequently facing a playoff path involving South Africa.
