Super Falcons: Why NFF’s Augustine Eguavoen call could cost Nigeria

On Tuesday, it was announced that former Super Eagles coach Augustine Eguavoen would take charge of the Super Falcons and lead them through the upcoming 2028 Olympic qualifiers against Comoros in October, Afrik-Foot reports.

​The decision has sparked mixed reactions — mostly negative. Although it is difficult to confirm whether it was indeed the Emmanuel Ikpeme-led NFF that made the decision or if they were instructed to do so by the National Sports Commission, who have largely been making the calls recently.

​Eguavoen is taking over at a time when the Super Falcons, and indeed Nigerian football as a whole, stand at a crossroads. The Super Eagles have been underwhelming, failing to qualify for the World Cup.

​The Super Falcons also underperformed at the recently concluded 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, exiting in the quarter-finals for the first time ever. That condemned them to the World Cup qualification playoffs, but they still failed to utilize that second chance.

​Now, Eguavoen is expected to lead the team through the first phase of the Olympic qualifiers against Comoros. Nigeria will play Comoros in a double-header.

Under normal circumstances, this would be a routine victory. But the precarious state of Nigerian football and the appointment of Eguavoen have created an air of uncertainty.

​Can Eguavoen Lead The Super Falcons?

​It is important to note that Eguavoen has never managed or coached a professional women’s football team in his entire coaching career.

​Most of his work has been with the Super Eagles, Nigerian domestic clubs, and African sides like Black Leopards and Stade Malien.

Austin Eguaveon is back with Pep Guardiola's style of play for the Super Falcons.

Rejoice!!! https://t.co/LcEg5LtEc6 pic.twitter.com/Nqmjz3zyQy

— OgaNlaMedia 🇳🇬 (@OgaNlaMedia) September 8, 2026

​Over the past decade, Eguavoen has served as the NFF’s regular troubleshooter, routinely called upon as a temporary fix, and this is just another instance. But this particular appointment seems absurd given that the 60-year-old has no prior experience coaching a women’s team.

​In fact, most of his stints as the makeshift coach of the Super Eagles have ended poorly. Significant question marks also surround his tenure as technical director and what tangible improvements he has delivered for national teams that continue to flounder.

​Managing a women’s football team is an entirely different proposition from managing a men’s side. For a coach with no background at that level, it feels like an accident waiting to happen.

​Yes, Comoros are minnows on the continent—in fact, with all due respect, among the lowest-ranked of all. But we already witnessed Nigeria get stunned by Malawi, another underdog, at the WAFCON just two months ago.

​With the squad low on confidence and battered by backlash from fans, can Eguavoen turn things around?

​The saving grace for the Super Falcons is that their individual quality vastly outmatches that of Comoros. Ultimately, that individual brilliance is what will likely see them through — if anything does.

​However, if they fail, it will represent a catastrophic disaster for Nigerian football—a brand-new low.