The Nigeria Football Federation has appointed former Super Eagles head coach Augustine Eguavoen as interim coach of the Super Falcons ahead of their 2028 Olympic Games qualifying fixtures against Comoros in October.
The appointment follows the dismissal of Justin Madugu and his technical crew last month, with the NFF saying Eguavoen’s role is temporary as the federation continues its search for a substantive head coach for the women’s senior national team.
The NFF announced the development in a statement on Tuesday.
“Former Super Eagles head coach Augustine Eguavoen will lead Nigeria’s Senior Women’s National Team, the Super Falcons, on an interim basis for their 2028 Olympic Games qualifying fixtures against Comoros in October, as the search for a substantive head coach for the team continues,” the federation stated.
Madugu and his technical crew were directed to step aside on August 17, following Nigeria’s disappointing campaign at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The Super Falcons, who entered the WAFCON as defending champions, were eliminated after a 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Cameroon before suffering a 2-1 loss to South Africa in the World Cup qualifying play-off.
The setback ended Nigeria’s record of featuring in every edition of the Women’s World Cup since the tournament began in 1991.
Eguavoen, popularly known as ‘Cerezo’, will be assisted by Nasarawa Amazons coach Christopher Danjuma, while former Super Eagles goalkeeper trainer Olatunji Baruwa will serve as goalkeeper trainer.
Former Super Falcons defender Ayisat Yusuf has also been appointed as an assistant coach.
Eguavoen has previously managed the Super Eagles at senior international level and led Nigeria to a bronze medal at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
Danjuma also has experience with Nigeria’s women’s national teams, having coached the Falconets at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica.
Yusuf earned 68 international caps for Nigeria during her playing career and featured at four Women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, three FIFA Women’s World Cups and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
The Super Falcons will take on Comoros at the Remo Stars Stadium, Ikenne-Remo, on October 9 and 13, with both legs scheduled to be played in Nigeria.
Nigeria 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.
The Super Falcons will need to navigate four rounds of two-legged knockout fixtures to secure one of Africa’s two available spots at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
If Nigeria overcome Comoros, they will face either the Democratic Republic of Congo or Morocco in the next round, scheduled for February 23 to March 6, 2027.
