Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Ibrahim Gusau has resigned alongside members of his executive committee and the General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi.
This follows growing calls for their resignation following the failure of the Men’s and Women’s Senior national teams to qualify for their respective world cups.
Ibrahim Musa Gusau became president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on 30 September 2022, when he was elected at the federation’s 78th Elective Congress in Benin City. He defeated Peterside Idah in the re-run, polling 39 votes to one, succeeding Amaju Pinnick. The formal handover from Pinnick to Gusau took place on 11 October 2022.
Since the Gusau-led administration came into office, Nigeria has suffered a number of notable failures to qualify for major international tournaments. The most significant is the 2026 FIFA World Cup which Nigeria failed to qualify after finishing behind South Africa in their qualifying group and then losing the African playoff final to DR Congo on penalties.
The 2024 Paris Olympic men’s football tournament was another major absence. Nigeria’s U-23 side failed to qualify for the Olympics after being eliminated by Guinea in the qualifying process. Because the 2023 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations served as the African qualifying tournament for Paris 2024, Nigeria’s failure also meant missing that tournament.
The 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup was also missed by Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets. Nigeria failed to reach the required stage at the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, meaning they did not obtain one of Africa’s tickets to the global tournament.Nigeria also failed to qualify for the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup, and the country subsequently faced another qualification failure in the pathway to the 2026 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
