By Benson Daniel
The Nigeria Football Federation has appointed former Super Eagles head coach Augustine Eguavoen as interim coach of the Super Falcons ahead of Nigeria’s 2028 Olympic Games qualifying campaign.
Eguavoen will take charge of the senior women’s national team for their second round qualifying fixtures against Comoros in October, while the NFF continues its search for a permanent head coach.
The experienced coach, popularly known as “Cerezo”, returns to the national team setup after previously managing the Super Eagles at senior international level. He guided Nigeria to a bronze medal finish at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
Eguavoen will be supported by Christopher Danjuma, the head coach of Nasarawa Amazons, who has considerable experience working with Nigeria’s women’s national teams. Danjuma previously led the Falconets at the 2024 FIFA Under 20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica.
Former Super Eagles goalkeeper trainer Olatunji Baruwa has also been included in the technical crew as goalkeeper trainer, while former Super Falcons defender Ayisat Yusuf joins as an assistant coach.
Yusuf made 68 appearances for Nigeria during her playing career and represented the country at four Women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, three FIFA Women’s World Cups and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
The appointment comes as the Super Falcons prepare for a crucial two legged encounter against Comoros in the second round of the African qualifiers for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Both matches are scheduled to take place at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne Remo on October 9 and 13, 2026.
Nigeria received a bye into the second round as one of the three highest ranked teams in the qualifying competition, while Comoros secured its place after defeating Sudan 30 0 on aggregate.
The Super Falcons will need to navigate four rounds of two legged knockout ties to secure one of Africa’s two available places at the Olympic women’s football tournament.
If Nigeria eliminates Comoros, the team will advance to the third round, where it could face either the Democratic Republic of Congo or Morocco in February 2027.
The NFF’s decision to place Eguavoen in temporary charge follows the departure of Justine Madugu and his technical crew after Nigeria’s disappointing 2026 campaign, which ended with the Super Falcons failing to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Eguavoen now faces the immediate task of preparing the team for the Olympic qualifiers while the federation works towards appointing a substantive coach for the national side.
The Super Falcons, who remain one of Africa’s most successful women’s football teams, will be aiming to begin their Olympic qualification campaign strongly and move closer to securing a place at the 2028 Games.
Leave a comment