Augustine Eguavoen has been told that his temporary appointment as Super Falcons coach should not automatically end after the 2028 Olympic qualifiers, with grassroots coach Oluwatobi Omotoso urging the Nigeria Football Federation to consider keeping him if he can produce results and build a strong relationship with the players, Footynaija.com reports.
The former Super Eagles coach was handed the Falcons job on an interim basis after the NFF asked Justine Madugu and his technical crew to step down following Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. The decision ended Madugu’s spell after the Falcons lost 2-1 to South Africa in the World Cup play-off in August.
That failure was bigger than a single bad result. Nigeria had never missed a Women’s World Cup since the competition began in 1991, and the Falcons entered the 2026 WAFCON as defending champions and Africa’s most successful women’s team with 10 titles. They lost 1-0 to Cameroon in the quarter-finals before South Africa ended their remaining World Cup hopes.
The NFF has now given Eguavoen a short window to show what he can do. His first assignment will be against Comoros in the second round of the 2028 Olympic qualifiers, with both legs scheduled for the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne-Remo on October 9 and 13.
It is not an easy route beyond that first tie. Nigeria must pass four rounds of two-legged matches to reach the Los Angeles Games, with only two African places available. Comoros, meanwhile, reached the second round after putting 30 goals past Sudan without conceding.
Eguavoen has more than a caretaker role to play
Omotoso believes the NFF should look beyond Eguavoen’s background in the men’s game when judging his suitability for the Falcons.
“Obviously, he is bringing a wealth of knowledge to the team as it stands,” Omotoso told the News Agency of Nigeria, as reported by Real News.
The argument is supported by Eguavoen’s history with the Super Eagles. He led Nigeria to third place at the 2006 AFCON and returned as interim coach for the 2021 AFCON, where the Eagles won all three group matches before losing 1-0 to Tunisia in the round of 16. CAF named him the best coach of the group stage after that perfect start.
He has also managed Nigeria in several different circumstances, which gives him experience of taking over teams under pressure rather than only working with a settled squad.
Omotoso believes that experience can now help the Falcons, even though women’s football has its own demands.
“Football is general, be it male or female,” he said.
