NFF appoints Eguavoen interim coach of Super Falcons

NFF appoints Eguavoen interim coach of Super Falcons

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has appointed former Super Eagles head coach Augustine Eguavoen as interim head coach of the Super Falcons for their 2028 Olympic Games qualifying fixtures against Comoros in October.

This followed the sacking of Justin Madugu and his technical crew last month.

The NFF announced the appointment in a statement on Tuesday, saying the move was temporary as the search for a substantive coach for the women’s senior national team continues.

“Former Super Eagles head coach Augustine Eguavoen will lead Nigeria’s Senior Women’s National Team, the Super Falcons, on an interim basis for their 2028 Olympic Games qualifying fixtures against Comoros in October, as the search for a substantive head coach for the team continues,” the statement read.

Madugu and his technical crew were ordered to step down on August 17, days after Nigeria’s disappointing campaign at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and subsequent failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Falcons, who entered the WAFCON as defending champions, suffered a 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Cameroon before losing 2-1 to South Africa in the World Cup qualifying play-off.

The defeat ended Nigeria’s record of appearing at every edition of the Women’s World Cup since the competition began in 1991.

With the Olympic qualifying campaign approaching, the NFF has now turned to Eguavoen on an interim basis as it seeks a permanent replacement for Madugu.

Eguavoen, popularly known as ‘Cerezo’, will be assisted by Nasarawa Amazons head coach, Christopher Danjuma, while former Super Eagles goalkeeper trainer Olatunji Baruwa will serve as goalkeeper trainer.

Former Super Falcons defender Ayisat Yusuf has also been appointed as one of the assistant coaches.

Eguavoen has managed Nigeria at the senior international level and guided the Super Eagles to a bronze medal at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

Danjuma also has experience with Nigeria’s women’s national teams, having led the Falconets at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica.

Yusuf, who earned 68 caps for Nigeria during her playing career, represented the country at four Women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, three FIFA Women’s World Cups and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

The Super Falcons will face Comoros at the Remo Stars Stadium, Ikenne-Remo, on October 9 and 13, with both legs scheduled to take place in Nigeria.

Nigeria received a bye into the second round as one of the three highest-ranked teams in the qualifying competition, while Comoros progressed after defeating Sudan 30-0 on aggregate.

The Super Falcons must navigate four rounds of two-legged knockout ties to secure one of Africa’s two available spots at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

Should Nigeria defeat Comoros, they will face either the Democratic Republic of Congo or Morocco in the third round, scheduled for February 23 to March 6, 2027.

The fourth round is billed for October 4 to 12, 2027, while the final round will take place from November 23 to December 4, 2027.