The Nigeria Football Federation has dismissed Super Falcons coach Justine Madugu and the rest of his technical crew with immediate effect, just days after Nigeria failed to qualify for the FIFA Women's World Cup for the first time, and set up a task force to investigate the causes of the failure.
However, the federation is also facing questions over whether the leadership will survive long enough to reach the elections scheduled for September.
"The Executive Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation has asked members of the technical crew of the @NGSuper_Falcons to step down with immediate effect," the federation announced Monday on social media.
The decision brings a dramatic end to Madugu's tenure, barely a year after he led Nigeria to a record-extending 10th Women's Africa Cup of Nations title and was named coach of the tournament by CAF. Madugu took charge of the Super Falcons on an interim basis in September 2024 following the resignation of American Randy Waldrum and went on to oversee their successful WAFCON campaign in Morocco the following year.
But the fortunes of the African champions turned sharply at this year's WAFCON, which doubled as Africa's qualifying tournament for the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil.
Nigeria failed to reach the semifinals, missing out on one of Africa's four automatic World Cup places, before losing 2-1 to South Africa in Thursday's playoff for a place in the intercontinental playoffs. The defeat ended the Super Falcons' record of qualifying for every Women's World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1991.
The NFF had already moved to investigate the failure, setting up a fact-finding committee Friday to examine what it described as the poor performances of Nigeria's national teams, with particular attention to the Super Falcons' World Cup elimination.
NFF president Ibrahim Gusau inaugurated the committee on Monday and gave it two weeks to submit its findings.
"You are to probe into the direct and remote causes of the poor outings of the National Teams in recent times, but with specific reference to the unexpected failure of the Super Falcons to qualify for the World Cup," Gusau said. "You will have two weeks to do the job and submit your report.
"We have composed this committee believing that you will come up with solutions to the present malaise, having played crucial roles in the Nigeria game in one way or the other for a very long time."
The committee is chaired by former NFF general secretary Fanny Amun, who also coached Nigeria to the 1993 FIFA Under-17 World Cup title, and 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 said the committee would speak to people connected with the problems and accept submissions from members of the public.
"We see this as a call to a very important national duty," Amun said. "It is not something that can be approached half-hearted. We have to immerse ourselves fully into the processes and come out with a report that all who have a stake in the Nigeria game will be proud of."
The NFF, however, is facing growing pressure of its own.
Nigeria's Guardian newspaper reported Saturday that officials of the National Sports Commission are considering asking President Bola Tinubu to approve a plan that could effectively halt next month's NFF elections and replace the current administration with a normalisation committee for three months.
The NFF elections are scheduled for Sept. 27 in Lafia, Nasarawa State, with the process already underway. The Guardian, citing an unnamed source, reported that the NSC had been inclined to allow Gusau to seek another term but that the series of qualification failures by Nigeria's national teams had changed the thinking within government.
The newspaper also reported that, in order to forestall a FIFA suspension on grounds of third party interference, the NSC had briefed FIFA about the possibility of a normalisation committee and was seeking an opportunity to discuss the proposal with President Tinubu. No NSC official publicly confirmed the plan to The Guardian.
A senior NSC source confirmed the substance of The Guardian's reporting to ESPN on Monday
"Although there is nothing official for now, this is not far from what the NSC and the government are looking to do," the source said. "But the substance of the report is correct."
Any move to install such a committee would require FIFA involvement and approval. Under Article 8.2 of the FIFA Statutes, the Bureau of the FIFA Council can appoint a normalisation committee to run the affairs of a member association in exceptional circumstances.
Such committees are typically appointed by FIFA in consultation with the relevant continental confederation, with members subjected to eligibility checks. FIFA and CAF, rather than a national government acting unilaterally, would therefore have to be involved in establishing a normalisation committee for the NFF.
FIFA has previously used normalisation committees in African associations including Congo DR, Guinea and Tunisia to run day-to-day affairs, address governance or electoral problems and ultimately organise elections.