Nigeria’s Super Falcons miss World Cup after 2-1 playoff loss in Casablanca in August
Nigeria’s Super Falcons lost 2-1 to South Africa in a playoff in Casablanca in August, a defeat that means they will not participate in next year’s World Cup in Brazil for the first time.
The result followed Nigeria’s elimination from the Wafcon at the quarter-final stage by Cameroon a few days earlier, with only the semi-finalists qualifying automatically and the Super Falcons therefore required to contest a playoff. Dr Victor Ademola, a journalist and lecturer who was in Morocco on the night of the defeat, said: “It was a very difficult evening. Some players were visibly emotional while others appeared to be processing what had just happened. I saw players crying as they got on to the team bus while some sat alone or remained on their phones, looking very sad.” The Super Falcons are the continent’s most decorated national side across men’s and women’s football, having won 10 Wafcon titles; their World Cup absence ends a run that made them one of only seven teams to have attended every edition and the only African side among that group.
Missing the World Cup carries financial consequences as well as reputational ones, because development funding and commercial exposure that come with participation will not be available to the team. In 2023 Fifa president Gianni Infantino pledged to equal the men’s and women’s tournaments’ prize funds by 2027; the men’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico offered $727m (roughly £539m). Recent news suggest Fifa will miss out on its target, and the Super Falcons’ non-participation means they will not benefit if the women’s prize fund increases.
Janine Anthony, an African women’s football journalist, argued that the stakes were particularly high for Nigeria because “women’s football does not have the luxury of not being at a World Cup”. Anthony also said: “A spot at the World Cup is the ultimate window and it’s a dream to be able to represent your country at any stage, whether it’s in music or football. For women’s football, the World Cup is such a commercially marketable vehicle. The Super Falcons team were one of only seven teams that had been to every World Cup, [and] the only African team. Now that’s gone.” She criticised preparations, calling the team an “absolute afterthought” in terms of domestic leagues, management and preparation, and saying the lack of warm-up games affected cohesion.
Preparation details cited by Anthony included only two pre-tournament friendlies against Senegal — who have never qualified for the World Cup — in contrast with three friendlies ahead of the 2025 edition against France, Cameroon and Portugal. She added: “Imagine if they had more games to prepare,” and accused the Nigerian Football Federation of failing to capitalise on the Wafcon being moved to July. The then coach, Justine Madugu, frequently altered the starting XI during the competition, a pattern Anthony linked to the team’s limited readiness.
The wider landscape of African women’s football changed at Wafcon: Morocco are the only country from the continent who played in the 2023 World Cup guaranteed to be at next year’s tournament, while South Africa go into inter-continental playoffs which start this month and Nigeria and Zambia will not be involved. Malawi made their debut at the tournament and secured a World Cup place with the attacking performances of the Chawinga sisters, Tabitha and Temwa, standing out, and Cameroon — the winners — were described as unexpected competitors who only qualified after the Confederation of African Football expanded the tournament from 12 to 16 teams.
The Super Falcons’ absence adds to a series of setbacks across Nigerian football. The men’s senior team have failed to qualify for two World Cups in a row and the under-17 men’s team have not reached the World Cup since 2019 or Afcon since 2023. The under-20 women beat England 3-0 to reach the quarter-finals at their World Cup in September but then lost against Colombia 1-0. Players and coaches have repeatedly protested over unpaid allowances and bonuses, staging sit-ins and training boycotts at Wafcons in 2004, 2016 and 2022 and at the 2019 World Cup, according to the reporting. Local media report the Nigerian Football Federation is under investigation by the country’s department of state services over an alleged misuse of a 17bn naira (£9.5m) fund issued by the government in 2024; the NFF did not comment when contacted by the Guardian.
President Bola Tinubu said in August: “Nigerian football must undergo far-reaching changes to strengthen governance, administration, stakeholder representation, player development, domestic competitions and accountability.” That statement followed the resignation of Ibrahim Gusau as NFF president along with several other board members and the suspension of NFF elections that had been scheduled for September. The NFF elections are now expected to take place following reforms made in consultation with Fifa and Caf, and Janine Anthony said: “We can only hope that there is the understanding that the Nigerian fans are really disappointed and sad that their national teams aren’t bringing the joy that Nigerians are used to as a football loving nation,” adding: “We can only hope that the Super Falcons can finally be given the respect they’ve always deserved.”