Yielding to intense, unavoidable national outrage over the catastrophic decline of Nigerian football, the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau, and General Secretary Dr. Mohammed Sanusi have officially resigned.
In a dramatic climax to a disastrous administrative era, the entire NFF Executive Committee has also thrown in the towel, stepping down just 34 days before the official end of their four-year tenure.
Elected in September 2022, Gusau’s administration will undeniably go down in history as the regime that oversaw some of the most humiliating lows ever recorded by the national teams.
The mass exodus was triggered by a relentless wave of public disenchantment following a string of unprecedented global failures. Under this board’s watch, the Super Eagles embarrassingly failed to qualify for the expanded 48-team 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America. Adding salt to an already gaping wound, the Super Falcons recently failed to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup—marking Nigeria’s first-ever absence from the women’s global showpiece since its inception 35 years ago. Furthermore, the Flying Eagles recently crashed out of contention for next year’s Africa U20 Cup of Nations, confirming a systemic collapse across all tiers of the national setup.
Reading the writing on the wall, Gusau claimed his decision to resign came after consultations with his family and football stakeholders, framing his exit as a necessary sacrifice for the sport. He stated that his resignation was intended to give way to a “comprehensive and orderly reform process aimed at addressing the longstanding institutional, governance, and developmental challenges confronting Nigerian football.”
However, many critics view the mass resignation not as a noble step aside, but as a desperate escape from a sinking ship that Gusau, Sanusi, and the board themselves steered into the rocks.
In a press conference held at the NFF Secretariat in Abuja, Gusau made a final attempt to salvage his heavily tarnished legacy. Despite the glaring failures on the world stage, he claimed to be leaving office with a “sense of satisfaction.” He pointed to his administration’s focus on coaching education—including the upcoming CAF A-License course—improved stability in the domestic league calendar, and upgrades in refereeing.
He also clutched at infrastructural additions, such as a 68-room Players’ Hostel and new training pitches at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, while reminding the press of the Super Eagles’ silver and bronze medals at the last two AFCON tournaments and the Super Falcons’ 2025 WAFCON triumph in Morocco.
Yet, for the millions of passionate Nigerian football fans, these domestic and continental consolations completely fail to mask the sheer embarrassment of missing back-to-back global tournaments. The departure of Gusau and Sanusi finally closes a dark chapter in Nigerian football, leaving behind a desperate need for a total rebuild from the ground up.
