Mass Exit at NFF: President Ibrahim Gusau and Entire Executive Committee Resign

Nigeria Football Federation president Ibrahim Gusau has quit his job, and he's taking the rest of his board with him.

Gusau broke the news at a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, saying the resignation starts right away. NFF general secretary Mohammed Sanusi stepped down at the same event, and other members of the Executive Committee have followed suit.

Speaking to reporters, Gusau said he made the call after talking things over with family, friends and stakeholders, and that he had told his board members to resign too.

The move puts an end to days of rumors about whether Gusau's leadership was on its way out. Pressure had been building on the 62-year-old and his team after a rough run of results across Nigeria's national teams.

The Super Eagles missed out on the 2026 World Cup, which was one of the biggest blows of Gusau's time in charge. The Super Falcons also failed to qualify for the 2027 Women's World Cup, breaking Nigeria's run of appearing at every edition since the tournament began in 1991. That qualification bid fell apart after a 2-1 loss to South Africa in the play-off, following an earlier 1-0 quarter-final exit to Cameroon at the Women's Africa Cup of Nations.

On top of that, the Flying Eagles could not book a spot at the 2027 Africa U-20 Cup of Nations, losing 4-1 to Burkina Faso in the WAFU B U-20 Championship final.

Gusau's exit comes just weeks before the NFF's elective congress, set for September 27 in Lafia, Nasarawa State. He took over as NFF president in September 2022, taking the reins from Amaju Melvin Pinnick.