•Austin Eguavoen
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has appointed former Super Eagles head coach Augustine Eguavoen as interim coach of the Super Falcons ahead of their 2028 Olympic Games qualifying campaign.
According to a statement issued by the NFF yesterday, Eguavoen will lead the senior women’s national team in their second-round Olympic qualifiers against Comoros in October, while the search for a substantive head coach continues.
The NFF said Eguavoen, popularly known as “Cerezo”, brings extensive experience to the role, having managed at the highest level of international football, reports Channels TV.
It recalled that he led the Super Eagles to a bronze medal finish at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
Eguavoen will be assisted by Christopher Danjuma, head coach of Nigeria Women’s Football League side, Nasarawa Amazons. Danjuma has extensive experience with Nigeria’s women’s national teams and led the Falconets at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica.
Former Super Eagles goalkeeper trainer Olatunji Baruwa will serve as goalkeeper trainer. He has previously worked with several of Nigeria’s national teams, including the Super Eagles, CHAN Eagles, Flying Eagles and Golden Eaglets.
Former Super Falcons defender and coach Ayisat Yusuf will also join the coaching staff as an assistant coach.
Yusuf earned 68 international caps for Nigeria 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 10-time African champions will begin their Olympic qualifying campaign in the second round against Comoros, with both legs scheduled to take place at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne-Remo on October 9 and 13, 2026, respectively.
The Super Falcons received a bye into the second round as one of the three highest-ranked teams in the qualifying competition, while Comoros progressed after defeating Sudan 30-0 on aggregate.
Nigeria must navigate four rounds of two-legged knockout ties to secure one of Africa’s two available places at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
Should they overcome Comoros, the Super Falcons will advance to the third round, scheduled for February 23 to March 6, 2027, where they will face either the Democratic Republic of Congo or Morocco.
A place in the fourth round would see Nigeria face either Tunisia, Senegal, Benin Republic or Mali between October 4 and 12, 2027.
The final round of the qualifying race is scheduled for November 23 to December 4, 2027, with the Super Falcons potentially facing one of Guinea, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Central African Republic, Algeria or Burkina Faso.
