The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has been thrown into fresh uncertainty following the resignation of its President, Ibrahim Gusau, alongside other members of the federation’s board.
The development comes amid growing criticism of the administration of Nigerian football and a series of disappointing results involving the country’s national teams.
The NFF leadership had faced mounting pressure following Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, ending the Super Falcons’ uninterrupted appearance at the competition since its inaugural edition in 1991.
The crisis deepened following scrutiny from security agencies over the management of funds allocated to the NFF for the payment of players’ wages and bonuses.
The Department of State Services (DSS) is reportedly examining the utilisation of the N17 billion intervention fund approved by President Bola Tinubu in 2024 to settle outstanding payments owed to members of Nigeria’s national teams.
An authoritative source told Vanguard that the DSS had requested relevant documents from NFF officials detailing how the funds were disbursed and utilised.
“It’s a normal thing for DSS to go through all documents relating to the funds released to them,” the source said, while dismissing concerns that the investigation amounted to a witch-hunt.
The latest development follows a string of setbacks suffered by Nigeria’s national teams under the current football administration.
The Super Eagles have failed to qualify for successive editions of the FIFA World Cup, while the Super Falcons recently suffered a historic setback after missing out on qualification for the 2027 tournament in Brazil.
The Falcons’ hopes of securing a place at the World Cup suffered a major blow after they lost 1-0 to Cameroon in the quarter-finals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
The defeat ended Nigeria’s title defence and meant the team could no longer secure automatic qualification through the continental tournament.
The Falcons subsequently attempted to qualify through the playoff route but were beaten 2-1 by South Africa’s Banyana Banyana.
The failure marked the first time Nigeria will not participate in the FIFA Women’s World Cup since the competition began in 1991.
Amid the mounting criticism, members of the NFF executive committee had faced increasing calls to vacate their positions.
Before Gusau’s resignation, eight of the federation’s 13 board members were reportedly said to have stepped down, further weakening the leadership structure.
The latest resignations could have significant implications for the NFF’s planned election scheduled for September 2026, with questions now emerging over whether the electoral process can proceed as scheduled amid the leadership crisis.
