Justine Madugu and his Technical team have all been sacked by the NFF with immediate effect.
The Nigeria Federation Football announced the decision on Monday through its official X account, saying its Executive Committee had asked members of the Super Falcons’ technical crew to relinquish their positions with immediate effect.
The announcement comes shortly after Nigeria endured a disappointing Women’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign that left the Super Falcons without an automatic qualification place for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Nigeria went into the tournament with high expectations but struggled to reproduce the form expected from one of Africa’s most successful women’s teams.
Super Falcons entered the 2026 WAFCON in Morocco as defending champions and Africa’s most successful women’s national team, but their title defence ended in the quarter finals following a 1-0 defeat to Cameroon, this defeat was particularly significant because it marked the first time Nigeria had failed to reach the semi-finals of the WAFCON in the tournament’s 14th edition history.
The campaign began with a major surprise as the Super Falcons suffered a group-stage defeat to Malawi, who were making their debut at the competition, the African champions suffered a sharp downturn this year WAFCON failing to reach the semi-finals before losing 2-1 to South Africa in a play-off.
The early exit represented a major disappointment for the ten-time African champions.
One of the biggest consequences of Nigeria’s WAFCON disappointment is the team’s failure to secure an automatic place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The failure carries enormous historical significance for Nigerian football. The Super Falcons had qualified for every edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1991, making their failure to reach the 2027 edition a major break with a longstanding record.
Madugu and assistant coach Ann Chiejine were appointed in 2024 as part of an earlier restructuring of the Super Falcons’ coaching setup, following the resignation of American manager Randy Waldrum.
Madugu led the Super Falcons to a historic tenth WAFCON title last year after a thrilling comeback 2-3 against Morocco who were the hosts.
