President Bola Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive reform of Nigerian football following the resignation of Nigeria Football Federation president Ibrahim Musa Gusau, General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi and members of the federation’s Executive Committee.
The directive came on Thursday, hours after Gusau confirmed his resignation at a press conference at the NFF Secretariat in Abuja amid mounting public anger over the performances of Nigeria’s national teams.
The NFF confirmed the mass resignations, saying Gusau left office just 34 days before the end of the four-year tenure he began in September 2022.
“My resignation is intended to give way to a comprehensive and orderly reform process aimed at addressing the longstanding institutional, governance and developmental challenges confronting Nigerian football,” Gusau said.
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The leadership collapse follows one of the most damaging periods in Nigerian football history.
The Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after losing to DR Congo on penalties in the African play-off final, making it the first time since 1990 that Nigeria missed consecutive editions of the tournament.
The Super Falcons then failed to qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup after a 2-1 play-off defeat to South Africa. It ended Nigeria’s record of appearing at every edition of the competition since its introduction in 1991.
The senior women’s team had earlier lost to Cameroon in the quarter-finals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, a year after winning a record-extending 10th continental title.
Nigeria’s youth teams have also struggled. The Flying Eagles failed to qualify for the next Africa U-20 Cup of Nations, while the five-time world champion Golden Eaglets have now missed three consecutive FIFA U-17 World Cups.
Pressure on the NFF intensified after a fact-finding committee chaired by former federation general secretary Fanny Amun examined the national teams’ failures.
The committee reportedly raised concerns about the federation’s administration, resource allocation, unpaid coaches and players, and alleged interference in national-team selections. Amun also said Gusau failed to honour an invitation to appear before the panel.
The NFF has separately faced reports of an investigation into the use of a ₦17bn Federal Government intervention fund released in 2024 to settle outstanding payments owed to national-team players and officials.
Against that background, Tinubu said the reform must go beyond changing the federation’s leadership.
“The reform must respond to a longstanding need to strengthen governance, administration, stakeholder representation, development pathways, domestic competitions and accountability across Nigerian football,” the President said.
Tinubu noted that other sports had recorded progress since the re-establishment of the National Sports Commission, while football continued to underperform despite receiving greater public support, investment and attention.
“Football, Nigeria’s most popular sport and the greatest beneficiary of public support, investment and national attention, has continued to struggle basically due to structural deficits within the system,” he said.
The President directed the Chairman of the National Sports Commission to work with the NFF Secretariat and relevant stakeholders to maintain essential football administration and coordinate a broad consultation on the proposed reforms.
The government will also engage FIFA and CAF during the process to ensure that the restructuring complies with international football regulations governing the independence of national associations.
The leadership shake-up has created uncertainty around the NFF elective congress scheduled for September 27 in Lafia, Nasarawa State, where a new Executive Committee was expected to be elected.
Despite the failures, Gusau defended his record, citing improvements in the domestic league calendar, coaching education and refereeing, as well as the Super Falcons’ 2025 WAFCON title and the Super Eagles’ medals at the two most recent Africa Cup of Nations tournaments.
Tinubu, however, called on stakeholders to support the transition and work towards establishing a more accountable and successful football system.
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