Sports
FORMER Super Eagles head coach Augustine Eguavoen has been appointed interim head coach of the Super Falcons for their 2028 Olympic qualifying campaign.
Ademola Olajire, Head of Communications, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), announced the appointment in a statement on Tuesday.
Olajire said the appointment was temporary as the NFF continued its search for a substantive head coach for the senior women’s national team.
He said Eguavoen, popularly known as “Cerezo”, brought extensive international coaching experience to the team.
According to him, Eguavoen led the Super Eagles to a bronze medal finish at the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.
He added that Eguavoen would be assisted by Christopher Danjuma, head coach of Nasarawa Amazons, a Nigeria Women’s Football League (NWFL) side.
Danjuma has extensive experience with Nigeria’s various women’s national teams, including the Falconets.
He previously led the Falconets at the 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica.
Olajire said former Super Eagles goalkeeper trainer Olatunji Baruwa would serve as goalkeeper trainer.
Baruwa, he added, had worked with several national teams, including the Super Eagles, CHAN Eagles, Flying Eagles and Golden Eaglets.
Former Super Falcons defender Ayisat Yusuf will serve as assistant coach.
Yusuf earned 68 international caps and represented Nigeria at four Women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournaments during her playing career.
She also represented Nigeria at three FIFA Women’s World Cup tournaments and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 10-time African champions will begin their 2028 Olympic qualifying campaign in the second round against Comoros.
The two-legged fixture is scheduled for Oct. 9 and Oct. 13 at the Remo Stars Stadium, Ikenne-Remo.
Nigeria received a bye into the second round as one of Africa’s three highest-ranked teams.
Comoros advanced after defeating Sudan 30-0 on aggregate in the first qualifying round.
The Super Falcons must navigate four rounds of two-legged knockout ties to secure one of Africa’s two available places at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
If Nigeria eliminates Comoros, the Falcons will advance to the third round, scheduled for Feb. 23 to March 6, 2027.
They will face either Democratic Republic of Congo or Morocco at that stage.
A place in the fourth round will see Nigeria face one of Tunisia, Senegal, Benin Republic or Mali.
The fourth-round fixtures are scheduled to take place between Oct. 4 and Oct. 12, 2027.
The final round of the qualifying series is scheduled for Nov. 23 to Dec. 4, 2027.
At that stage, Nigeria could face Guinea, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Central African Republic, Algeria or Burkina Faso.(NAN)
A.I
Sept. 9, 2026
Tags: 2024 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup Ademola Olajire Augustine Eguavoen Christopher Danjuma FIFA Women’s World Cup Former Super Eagles Nigeria Football Federation