There are times when a sporting defeat is simply a sporting defeat. And there are times when a defeat exposes something much larger.
The collapse of Nigeria’s Super Falcons in 2026 belongs firmly in the second category. This is not simply about losing a football match.It is not even simply about failing to defend the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. It is about what happens when a country takes one of its greatest sporting institutions for granted, allows its football administration to decay, and then acts surprised when excellence eventually gives way to mediocrity.
And President Bola Ahmed Tinubu must answer for his government’s part in that failure.
Let us be clear about what the Super Falcons represent. Nigeria’s women’s national team has won the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 10 times — by far the most successful record in the history of the competition. The Falcons have been the dominant force in African women’s football for decades.They have been our most reliable football ambassadors. They have won when the Super Eagles struggled. They have carried Nigeria’s flag when other national teams disappointed. And until 2026, they had maintained an extraordinary record of qualifying for every FIFA Women’s World Cup since the competition began in 1991.That record is now gone with thex.
The Falcons were eliminated from the 2026 WAFCON after a 1–0 quarter-final defeat to Cameroon. They subsequently lost 2–1 to South Africa in the World Cup playoff, meaning Nigeria will miss the Women’s World Cup for the first time in its history.How did we get here? That is the question Nigerians should be asking. And the answer cannot simply be: “The players did not perform.”The players did not create this mess.
The easiest thing for football administrators and politicians to do is blame the people on the pitch. But the women who wore the Nigerian jersey did not design the football administration. They did not determine how the federation was run. They did not decide how national-team preparations were organised. They did not control the finances. They did not decide whether football officials would honour their obligations.They simply went onto the field and tried to win. And for years, Nigerian women footballers have done precisely that despite the dysfunction surrounding them.
The Falcons have won 10 African championships! Ten. That is not luck. That is not a fluke. That is evidence of a football culture and talent base that Nigeria should have been protecting, developing and expanding.Instead, we have allowed the institution behind that success to deteriorate.
Following the Falcons’ WAFCON setback, NFF President Ibrahim Gusau publicly apologised to President Tinubu and Nigerians, acknowledging the disappointment and accepting responsibility. But why should the NFF apologise only after the damage has been done? Where was the accountability before the tournament? Where was the rigorous preparation? Where was the institutional oversight? Where was the long-term plan? Where was the sense of urgency? And where was the government? Mr President, you cannot have it both ways. President Tinubu was rightly enthusiastic when the Falcons won their historic 10th WAFCON title in 2025. The government celebrated them. The President announced major financial rewards and promised houses and national honours for the victorious players and officials. Fine. That was deserved. But leadership cannot mean appearing at the victory parade while leaving the institutional machinery that produces the victories to rot. You cannot celebrate the product and ignore the factory. You cannot applaud the champions and neglect the system that produces champions. And you cannot claim the glory when things go right and then suddenly declare football administration somebody else’s responsibility when things go wrong. That is not leadership.
Tinubu did not coach the Falcons. But that is not the point. Let us be fair. President Tinubu did not select the starting eleven. He did not decide the tactics against Cameroon. He did not miss the chances. He did not determine the substitutions. He is therefore not personally responsible for the result of a football match. But that is a convenient defence that misses the larger issue. Presidents are not expected to coach national teams. They are expected to govern the system within which national institutions operate.And when that system is sustained by public money, government has a responsibility to demand accountability.This becomes even more important given the reported investigation by the EFCC and ICPC into the handling of a ₦12 billion Federal Government intervention fund released to the NFF for players’ wages, bonuses and related obligations.
On August 27, NFF President Ibrahim Gusau, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi and members of the federation’s executive committee resigned.Their departure came amid enormous criticism over Nigeria’s football failures, including the Super Falcons’ historic failure to qualify for the next Women’s World Cup.
That resignation should not be treated as the end of the story. It should be the beginning of a much deeper examination.Because changing the people at the top without changing the system merely prepares the ground for another crisis.
Nigeria has done this before. Officials leave. New officials arrive. Promises are made. Committees are established. Investigations begin. Then the country moves on until the next disaster.We cannot continue like this. The real scandal is not that Nigeria lost. The real scandal is that Nigeria had one of the most successful women’s national teams in world football and failed to build a sustainable institution around it.Imagine what a serious government could have done with the Super Falcons’ success: A national women’s football academy; A properly funded domestic women’s league; World-class coaching development; Scouting networks across all six geopolitical zones; Investment in girls’ grassroots football; Scholarships; Sports science.And even much more: Medical and rehabilitation facilities; International training partnerships; A transparent national-team funding system; A structured pathway from the U-17s to the U-20s and ultimately the senior team.Instead, too much of Nigerian football remains reactive. We wait for a tournament. We assemble a camp. We fight over money. We complain about logistics. We make promises. We play.And if we lose, we start looking for someone to blame. That is not a football development strategy. That is improvisation. And the Falcons deserved better. These women have spent years building Nigeria’s reputation. Many play professionally abroad. They have competed at the highest level. They have won African championships. They have represented Nigeria with dignity. Yet the institutional environment around them has repeatedly been characterised by uncertainty.That is unacceptable.The women should not have to become national heroes before government remembers that they exist. They should not have to win a trophy before their welfare matters. They should not have to threaten or suffer through disputes over payments before the system takes its obligations seriously. And they certainly should not have to carry the burden of institutional failures onto the football pitch.
Mr President, this is where you could have done better. You could have earlier demanded a comprehensive audit of government funding to Nigerian football. You could have insisted on transparent financial reporting.You could have demanded a credible five- or ten-year development plan for women’s football. You could have required measurable performance targets from the institutions receiving public funds. You could have insisted that the enormous success of the Super Falcons be converted into a permanent national development programme. You could have made women’s football a genuine national priority rather than something we celebrate whenever the team wins a trophy. And you could have demanded accountability before the system reached crisis point.That is what leadership is about. Not micromanaging football. Not choosing players. Not interfering with coaches. But ensuring that public institutions function.Nigeria has spent years telling the world that we are a football nation. We have produced extraordinary players. We have won Olympic medals. We have won the AFCON. We have dominated African women’s football. We have produced generations of footballers who have become stars around the world.
But somehow, we have become incapable of building institutions that match our talent.That is the tragedy.Our problem is not lack of talent. Our problem is governance.And the Super Falcons have just become the latest victims.Ibrahim Gusau and the NFF leadership have now resigned.Good.
But Nigerians should not allow their resignation to become a convenient escape hatch for everybody else.The questions must continue: What did the Ministry and the relevant government agencies know?What oversight mechanisms existed? How were Federal Government funds monitored?Why did the system allow the situation to deteriorate this far? Why did it take catastrophic sporting failures before there was serious institutional reckoning?And ultimately: Why did President Tinubu’s government not act earlier?
Mr President, Nigeria’s women deserve more than applause. The Super Falcons do not need another presidential photograph. They do not need another speech about national pride. They do not need another reward after the next trophy.They need a functioning system. They need competent administration. They need accountability. They need investment. They need continuity. They need respect.And Nigeria needs a government prepared to insist that the people entrusted with our national football institutions actually deliver.Because the Falcons have already delivered. Again and again. Ten African titles are the evidence.The question is what Nigeria delivered for them in return.In 2025, the Falcons gave Nigeria another African championship.In 2026, Nigeria gave them a dysfunctional system — and watched them lose the one record we assumed would never be broken.They will not be at the next Women’s World Cup. For the first time. Let that sink in.
The team that had represented Nigeria at every Women’s World Cup since the competition began will be watching the tournament from home.That is not merely a football statistic. It is a national embarrassment. And President Tinubu should not be allowed to wash his hands of it.No, Mr President, you did not lose the match. But you had the power to make sure the system surrounding the team was worthy of the women representing Nigeria.You could have done better. And now, Nigerians deserve to know whether you will. Not with another promise. Not with another reward. Not with another committee. But with reform. Because the Super Falcons belong to Nigeria. And Nigeria deserves better than what happened to them in 2026.