NFF fires Madugu after Nigeria’s WAFCON 2026 exit and 1-0, 2-1 losses

Nigeria’s Super Falcons lost 1-0 to Cameroon in the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals. They then fell 2-1 to South Africa in a playoff for a place at the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The results have led the Nigeria Football Federation to remove Justin Madugu and the entire Super Falcons technical crew with immediate effect. Madugu was in charge of the team, with assistants and other backroom staff forming the rest of the technical group.

Cameroon’s victory ended Nigeria’s progress in the quarter-finals, a stage the Falcons had never previously failed to reach in the competition. The elimination also meant Nigeria did not secure an automatic World Cup qualification place for the first time in the team’s history.

The defeat by South Africa denied Nigeria another chance to confirm its World Cup participation through the playoff. The Falcons now face another route in their effort to qualify for the global tournament, although the available material does not specify the details of that route.

Nigeria’s performances across the WAFCON were unconvincing, and the quarter-final exit was regarded as the team’s poorest showing at the tournament. The loss to Cameroon was followed by the setback against Banyana Banyana, leaving the federation to act against the technical staff.

Madugu and Edwin Okon joined the Super Falcons’ technical structure in November 2021, when the NFF moved to reorganise the coaching setup. Madugu later led the crew, supported by assistants and other members of the backroom team. Their departure now leaves the federation needing to appoint a new technical structure for Nigeria’s World Cup qualification push.