The President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Gusau, and 13 members of the federation’s board have reportedly resigned amid mounting pressure over the administration of Nigerian football.
The reported resignations come against the backdrop of growing criticism of the NFF leadership following a series of disappointing results by the country’s national teams.
The latest setback was the Super Falcons’ failure to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time in the history of the competition, after their elimination from the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) qualification playoffs.
The development has further intensified scrutiny of the federation, including reported investigations by security agencies into the management of funds released by the Federal Government to settle outstanding financial obligations to Nigeria’s national teams.
The Department of State Services (DSS) is reportedly examining documents relating to the N17 billion intervention fund approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2024 for the payment of outstanding wages, bonuses and other financial commitments to national-team players.
An authoritative source told Vanguard that the DSS had commenced a review of documents relating to the funds.
“It’s a normal thing for DSS to go through all documents relating to the funds released to them,” the source said, dismissing suggestions that the exercise amounted to a witch-hunt or an attempt to hound federation officials.
The reported investigation comes amid persistent concerns over the management of Nigerian football, particularly following the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for consecutive FIFA World Cup tournaments and the Super Falcons’ historic failure to secure a place at the next Women’s World Cup.
The Super Falcons were eliminated from the 2026 WAFCON after a 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Cameroon, a result that ended their title defence and denied them automatic qualification for the Women’s World Cup.
Nigeria subsequently faced South Africa in the qualification playoff, where the Banyana Banyana defeated the Falcons 2-1 to secure qualification.
The setback ended Nigeria’s record of qualifying for every edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup since the tournament was inaugurated in 1991.
Against this backdrop, pressure reportedly intensified on the Gusau-led NFF executive committee, culminating in the alleged resignation of 13 board members.
The reported mass resignation has raised fresh questions about the future leadership of the federation and could have implications for the NFF electoral process.
The NFF board elections are currently scheduled to take place on September 27 in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
The federation has yet to publicly confirm the reported resignations or clarify their potential impact on the scheduled elections.
