Falcons to Get New Coach Before Olympic Qualifier

The Super Falcons are expected to have a new technical crew before resuming their 2028 Women’s Olympic qualifying campaign in October, according to National Sports Commission Director-General Bukola Olopade.

The development follows the Nigeria Football Federation’s decision on Monday to ask the Super Falcons’ technical crew, led by Justine Madugu, to step down after the team’s disappointing showing at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

Nigeria suffered their earliest-ever exit from the tournament after a 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Cameroon. The result also ended their hopes of securing automatic qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Falcons were subsequently beaten 2-1 by South Africa in the CAF play-off, further damaging their hopes of returning to the global tournament.

Other members of the technical crew affected by the decision include former Super Falcons goalkeeper Ann Chiejine, goalkeeper coach Auwal Makwalla, video analyst Igor Krulj and fitness coach Per Karlsson.

The NFF now faces the task of appointing a new technical team ahead of the team’s next major assignment.

Olopade said the NSC and NFF were determined to make changes to the team’s technical structure because of the importance of qualifying for the 2028 Olympic Games.

“The Olympics are around the corner, we will see how we can tweak the technical team of the Falcons like we did for the U-23, which coach Eric Chelle will handle. This is because we are desirous of qualifying for the Olympics,” he said.

Nigeria returned to the women’s football tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics after a 16-year absence but failed to progress beyond the group stage.

The Falcons will resume their Olympic qualifying campaign in October against Comoros in the second round.

Comoros reached the second round after recording a 30-0 aggregate victory over Sudan, winning the first leg 17-0 on June 3 before completing the rout with a 13-0 victory five days later.

Olopade stressed that the NSC and NFF would work together to restructure the Falcons’ technical setup and ensure the team is adequately prepared for the Olympic qualifiers.