Three former Super Falcons captains have called on Nigeria’s women’s national team to abandon its reliance on past achievements and rebuild from the ground up, after the team suffered its worst-ever outing at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and missed out on the World Cup for the first time in history.
Desire Oparanozie, Patience Avre, and Kikelomo Ajayi delivered the warning as the Super Falcons prepare to resume their 2028 Olympic qualifying campaign in October under a new technical crew.
Nigeria holds the WAFCON record with 10 titles, more than double any other nation. Only three other teams had ever lifted the trophy before this year — Equatorial Guinea twice, in 2008 and 2012, and South Africa once, in 2022. Cameroon became the fourth nation to win it this year, beating Malawi 3-0 in the final in Rabat.
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Nigeria’s collapse opened that door. The Super Falcons lost 1-0 to Cameroon in the quarter-final in Morocco, their earliest exit ever and the first time they failed to reach the semi-finals. That defeat cost them automatic World Cup qualification, and a follow-up 2-1 loss to South Africa in the CAF play-off in Casablanca ended their bid completely, snapping a run of appearances at every Women’s World Cup since the tournament began in 1991.
In an interview with Punch Newspaper, Ajayi, who captained the team through multiple major tournaments, told The Punch that Nigeria can no longer coast on reputation.
“We have not lost our glory, but it is a warning that the rest of Africa has caught up and become much more competitive. That is actually good for African women’s football, but it also means Nigeria must raise its standards,” she said.
“Now, we must forget the past. What we need now is a renewed football culture around the women’s national team — better planning, continuity, preparation, investment and accountability.”
Oparanozie, who sits on the NFF’s fact-finding committee investigating the team’s poor performances, pushed for a full rebuild built around younger players.
“No more survival on raw talent and past glory alone. As painful as this moment is, we are more pained by the lack of institutional structure. We need a fresh start; a start that evaluates everything,” she said.
Avre, a four-time African champion, argued the players should not carry the blame alone.
“We also have to accept that women’s football in Africa has changed. Other countries are improving, investing and becoming more competitive. We cannot continue to rely on our name, past achievements or individual talent alone,” she said.
“I don’t believe the answer is to blame or insult the players. We need to look at the entire structure: preparation, coaching, tactics, player development, grassroots football, the domestic league, welfare and investment.”
