Tinubu orders sweeping reform of Nigerian football after repeated tournament failures

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has ordered a comprehensive reform of the country’s football administration following a series of failures by the national teams to qualify for major international tournaments.

The reforms are expected to cover governance, administration, stakeholder representation, player development pathways, domestic competitions and accountability, with the process set to involve the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), football stakeholders and international governing bodies FIFA and CAF.

In a statement published on X, formerly known as Twitter, President Tinubu said Nigeria’s longstanding football problems were structural and required a broad response.

“Football occupies a special place in our national life. It brings Nigerians together across generations and communities, and our country has never lacked talent, passion or support for the game,” the statement said.

“Yet, our results have too often fallen short of what Nigeria should expect. I have therefore directed a comprehensive reform of Nigerian football following our repeated failures to qualify for major regional, continental and world tournaments.

“The problems are structural, and our response must address them.”

According to the statement, the reform programme will seek to strengthen the governance and administration of Nigerian football while improving stakeholder representation and accountability.

It will also focus on rebuilding development pathways for young players and strengthening domestic competitions, areas considered crucial to ensuring Nigeria’s considerable football talent is converted into sustained success at international level.

“Our exceptional football talent must be supported by institutions capable of turning that talent into sustained success,” the statement added.

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The reform will strengthen governance and administration, improve stakeholder representation and accountability, rebuild development pathways and strengthen our domestic competitions.

Our exceptional football talent must be supported by institutions capable of turning that…

— Bola Ahmed Tinubu (@officialABAT) August 27, 2026

The announcement comes amid major changes within the NFF, with President Ibrahim Musa Gusau, members of his Executive Committee and General Secretary Dr Mohammed Sanusi reportedly resigning from their respective positions.

🚨 NFF President Ibrahim Musa Gusau, alongside his Executive Committee and the General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, have resigned from their positions.

— The NFF 🇳🇬 (@thenff) August 27, 2026

The leadership changes follow mounting concerns over Nigeria’s recent performances and qualification record.

The Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar after being eliminated by Ghana in the final qualifying round. Nigeria subsequently missed out on the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico, meaning the three-time African champions will have been absent from two successive editions of football’s biggest international tournament.

The latest failure has intensified scrutiny of the country’s football administration, with questions raised over the development of domestic talent, the organisation of competitions and the structures responsible for supporting the national teams.

Nigeria’s women’s football programme has also experienced a significant setback.

The Super Falcons had qualified for every edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1991. However, a series of defeats in the latest qualification campaign left the nine-time African champions outside the automatic qualification places before they were eventually eliminated in the playoffs.

The setbacks affecting both the men’s and women’s national teams have increased pressure for fundamental changes rather than short-term interventions.

President Tinubu’s directive therefore represents an attempt to address the wider structures supporting Nigerian football, rather than focusing solely on the performance of individual coaches or players.

The proposed reforms are expected to bring together the NFF, domestic football stakeholders and the continental and world governing bodies, CAF and FIFA.

The involvement of the two international bodies could be significant as Nigeria seeks to balance the need for institutional reform with football’s established governance principles and regulations.

Nigeria remains one of Africa’s most successful football nations, having won the Africa Cup of Nations three times and produced generations of internationally recognised players.

But the recent qualification failures have highlighted a growing gap between the country’s abundant football talent and its ability to consistently translate that talent into success on the international stage.

The government’s reform agenda will now face the challenge of turning the announcement into concrete structural changes capable of improving Nigeria’s football system over the long term.