Ex-players warn Falcons ahead Olympics qualifier

August 20, 2026 12:16 am

Former Super Falcons captains, Desire Oparanozie, Patience Avre and Kikelomo Ajayi, have warned that Nigeria can no longer survive on past glory, as the Super Falcons prepare to resume their 2028 Women’s Olympic qualifying campaign in October under a new technical crew, following the team’s historic failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup, The PUNCH reports.

Nigeria’s record of appearing at every edition of the Women’s World Cup since its 1991 launch came to an end after the Super Falcons suffered their earliest-ever exit at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, losing 1-0 to Cameroon in the quarter-final.

The defeat cost them automatic qualification for the global showpiece, before a 2-1 loss to South Africa in the CAF play-off in Casablanca sealed their fate.

The Nigeria Football Federation subsequently asked the technical crew led by coach Justine Madugu to step down on Monday, alongside former Falcons goalkeeper, Ann Chiejine, goalkeeper coach, Auwal Makwalla, and Swedish duo, Igor Krulj and Per Karlsson, who served as video analyst and fitness coach respectively.

Director-General of the National Sports Commission, Bukola Olopade, has hinted that a new technical crew will be in place before the Falcons resume their Olympic qualifiers in October against Comoros, who advanced to the second round after a 30-0 aggregate victory over Sudan.

Ajayi, who captained the Super Falcons through several major tournaments, said Nigeria must stop looking to the past and instead build a new era of success.

“We have not lost our glory, but it is a warning that the rest of Africa has caught up and become much more competitive. That is actually good for African women’s football, but it also means Nigeria must raise its standards. The Super Falcons have the talent, experience and pedigree to compete with the best,” she told The PUNCH.

“Now, we must forget the past. What we need now is a renewed football culture around the women’s national team — better planning, continuity, preparation, investment and accountability. We must respect every opponent, but we should never lose confidence in ourselves. The important thing now is to stop looking backwards and start building forward. The glory days should not simply be remembered; we should create a new era of glory,” Ajayi said.

Oparanozie, who is a member of the NFF’s fact-finding committee set up to investigate the poor performance of the national teams, called for a major rebuild, urging the federation to appoint a new coach and hand more opportunities to younger players.

“No more survival on raw talent and past glory alone. As painful as this moment is, we are more pained by the lack of institutional structure. We need a fresh start; a start that evaluates everything,” Oparanozie said.

Avre, a four-time African champion, said the entire structure around the team needed scrutiny rather than the players themselves.

“We also have to accept that women’s football in Africa has changed. Other countries are improving, investing and becoming more competitive. We cannot continue to rely on our name, past achievements or individual talent alone.

“ I don’t believe the answer is to blame or insult the players. We need to look at the entire structure: preparation, coaching, tactics, player development, grassroots football, the domestic league, welfare and investment,” Avre told our correspondent.

The Falcons returned to women’s football at the Olympics at Paris 2024 after a 16-year absence but were eliminated at the group stage. Speaking on the technical rebuild, Olopade said the NSC and NFF would work together to restructure the Falcons’ set-up ahead of the qualifiers.

“The Olympics are around the corner; we will see how we can tweak the technical team of the Falcons like we did for the U-23, which coach Eric Chelle will handle. This is because we are desirous of qualifying for the Olympics,” Olopade said.

Peter Akinbo

Peter, who has been covering sports for PUNCH for close to two years, focuses on combat sports reporting, special features and human angle stories

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