Explained: Why the Nigerian government wanted the NFF board out

The President of the Nigeria Football Federation Ibrahim Gusau has announced his resignation from his position and has asked members of his board to also tender their resignations, Soccernet.ng reports.

For months, the crisis surrounding Nigerian football appeared to be heading towards a familiar conclusion. There were calls for change, questions over the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), concerns about the national teams and growing scrutiny of how the country’s football affairs were being managed.

Then, this week, the situation escalated. For the last few days, there were rumours that Gusau and members of the NFF board were resigning, but nothing was confirmed until this morning when news broke that they had called for a press conference in Abuja.

There, Gusau confirmed that he was leaving his post. Although other members did not state whether they were leaving or not, he advised them to also tender their resignations.

Why is Gusau Leaving The NFF?

This is not the first time that the NFF board will be placed under scrutiny of face heavy criticism. But Nigerian football is at one of its lowest in a very long time.

Nigeria has had a troubling record on the international stage since Gusau became the NFF boss in 2022. Although Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the World Cup that year was not his fault, he failed to take the lessons from that disappointment.

The Super Eagles missed the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while the Super Falcons suffered an even more historic setback by not only failing to get past the quarterfinal of the WAFCON, but also failing to qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup for the first time.