- Safiu Kehinde
The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has appointed former Super Eagles head coach, Augustine Eguavoen, was the new manager of the Women’s National Team, the Super Falcons, weeks after sacking of Justin Madugu.
Eguavoen was appointed on an interim basis for the 2028 Olympic Games qualifying fixtures against Comoros in October, as the search for a substantive head coach for the team continues.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday by the NFF.
According to the statement, Cerezo, as Eguavoen is fondly called, brings a wealth of experience to the assignment, having managed at the highest international level, including leading Nigeria’s Super Eagles to bronze medal finish at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
Eguavoen will be assisted by Christopher Danjuma, the current head coach of Nigeria Women’s Football League side Nasarawa Amazons.
Danjuma embodies vast experience with Nigeria’s women’s national teams, including leading the Falconets at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica.
Also joining the new technical team is former Super Eagles goalkeeper trainer, Olatunji Baruwa, who will serve as the Super Falcons goalkeeper trainer.
Baruwa has worked with several of Nigeria’s national teams, including the Super Eagles, CHAN Eagles, Flying Eagles and Golden Eaglets.
Former Super Falcons defender and now coach, Ayisat Yusuf will also serve as one of the assistant coaches.
Yusuf earned 68 international caps for Nigeria and represented the country at four Women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, three FIFA Women’s World Cups and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
The 10-time African Champions are set to open their Olympic qualifying campaign in the second round against Comoros, with both legs scheduled for the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne-Remo on October 9 and 13, 2026, respectively.
Super Falcons received a bye into the second round as one of the three highest-ranked teams in the qualifying competition, while Comoros advanced after defeating Sudan 30-0 on aggregate.
Nigeria will navigate four rounds of two-legged knockout ties to secure one of Africa’s two available places at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
If they overcome Comoros, the Super Falcons will advance to the third round, scheduled for February 23 to March 6, 2027, where they will face either the Democratic Republic of Congo or Morocco.
A place in the fourth round will see Nigeria face either Tunisia, Senegal, Benin Republic or Mali between October 4 and 12, 2027.
The final round of the qualifying race is scheduled for November 23 to December 4, 2027, with the Super Falcons potentially facing one of Guinea, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Central African Republic, Algeria or Burkina Faso