NFF Technical Director Augustine Eguavoen has been appointed interim head coach of Nigeria's Super Falcons and will lead the team into next month's 2028 Olympic Games qualifiers against Comoros.
The appointment represents another call to national-team duty for Eguavoen, who has had multiple spells in charge of the Super Eagles, but this will be his first assignment as head coach of Nigeria's senior women's team.
Eguavoen replaces Justine Madugu, who was asked to step down last month along with his entire technical crew after Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup for the first time. The Super Falcons were eliminated after a 2-1 loss to South Africa in the African playoff following a disappointing Women's Africa Cup of Nations campaign.
The NFF said Eguavoen will remain in charge on an interim basis for the Olympic qualifiers while the federation continues the process of appointing a substantive head coach.
His immediate task will be to steer Nigeria through a potentially lengthy qualification campaign, beginning with both legs against Comoros at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne-Remo on Oct. 9 and 13.
Nigeria received a bye into the second round as one of the three highest-ranked teams in the qualifying competition. Comoros advanced in spectacular fashion, beating Sudan 17-0 in the first leg and 13-0 in the second for a 30-0 aggregate victory.
Eguavoen, 61, has been one of the NFF's most reliable stop-gap options over the past two decades. He first stepped in after the late Christian Chukwu was fired in the wake of Nigeria's failure to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and then led the Super Eagles to third place at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
He has subsequently returned to take charge of the team on several occasions when the federation was between permanent coaches.
His most recent spell came in 2024, when he took temporary charge following the departure of Finidi George and remained in place for part of Nigeria's 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying campaign.
He had previously stepped in following Gernot Rohr's departure in December 2021 and led Nigeria at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, where the Super Eagles won all three group games before losing to Tunisia in the round of 16.
Eguavoen will be assisted by Nasarawa Amazons coach Christopher Danjuma, who has extensive experience in Nigeria's women's national team system and most recently led the Falconets at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Colombia.
Danjuma took Nigeria into the knockout stage of that competition before the Falconets were eliminated by Japan in the round of 16. His inclusion gives the interim staff a coach with direct experience working within the women's national team set up and with a number of players who could eventually progress to the senior side.
Former Super Eagles goalkeeper trainer Olatunji Baruwa has been named goalkeeper coach, while former Super Falcons defender Ayisat Yusuf will also serve as an assistant.
Yusuf won 68 caps during her playing career and represented Nigeria at the 2007 Women's World Cup and 2008 Beijing Olympics. She has since moved into coaching and was appointed to work with girls teams at Tikkurilan Palloseura in Finland in 2025.
The appointments come at a time when the Super Falcons are attempting to recover quickly from the disappointment of missing the 2027 World Cup.
Nigeria returned to the Olympics at Paris 2024 after a 16-year absence and must negotiate four rounds of two-legged knockout ties to return to the tournament in Los Angeles. Africa has two qualification places available.
If Nigeria get past Comoros, either Morocco or the Democratic Republic of Congo will await in the third round between Feb. 23 and March 6, 2027.
The fourth round is scheduled for October 2027, with Nigeria's potential opponents coming from Tunisia, Senegal, Benin Republic or Mali. The final qualifying round will be played between Nov. 23 and Dec. 4, 2027.
