The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has removed Super Falcons head coach Justine Madugu after the side failed to qualify for the Women's World Cup for the first time in its history. A fact-finding panel has now been set up to investigate the collapse, while the NFF leadership itself is under pressure ahead of the elections in September.

NFF have dismissed Super Falcons coach Madugu along with his entire technical crew with immediate effect. The move comes after Nigeria missed out on qualification for the FIFA Women's World Cup for the first time ever.

The sacking marks a dramatic finish to Madugu's spell in charge, only a year after he guided the Super Falcons to a record-extending 10th WAFCON crown. He had stepped in on an interim basis in September 2024 after American coach Randy Waldrum resigned.

But the African champions endured a steep decline at this year's WAFCON, failing to make the semi-finals before suffering a 2-1 defeat to South Africa in a play-off. That result brought an end to Nigeria's proud run of qualifying for every Women's World Cup since the first tournament in 1991.

In response to the historic exit, NFF president Ibrahim Gusau on Monday inaugurated a committee to establish the facts behind the failure. The panel has been given two weeks to examine both the direct and underlying causes of the collapse.

"You are to probe into the direct and remote causes of the poor outings of the National Teams in recent times, but with specific reference to the unexpected failure of the Super Falcons to qualify for the World Cup," Gusau said. "You will have two weeks to do the job and submit your report."

The committee is being led by former NFF general secretary Fanny Amun and also features former Super Falcons captain Desire Oparanozie and former Super Eagles captain Mutiu Adepoju. Amun said the panel would welcome submissions from the public while fully committing itself to the assignment.

Nigeria's failure to reach the WAFCON semi-finals cost them an automatic qualification place for the 2027 tournament in Brazil. Their subsequent play-off defeat to South Africa officially shut off every remaining path to the global event. Before this, the Super Falcons had been the only African nation to appear in all nine previous editions of the Women's World Cup.

The turmoil in Nigerian football is not limited to the technical bench, with growing scrutiny over the federation's leadership as well. Current NFF officials are facing uncertainty ahead of elections fixed for 27 September in Lafia.

ESPN reports that officials of the National Sports Commission are considering asking President Bola Tinubu to stop the elections and put in place a temporary normalisation committee. The NSC is also said to have informed FIFA about the possible intervention.

Under FIFA rules, any normalisation committee must be officially appointed by FIFA in consultation with CAF in order to avoid a suspension for third-party interference. With the investigative panel now beginning its work, Nigerian football is heading into a crucial phase of possible restructuring.