NFF President Gusau Promises Improved Performance of National Teams in 2025

Posted : 31 December 2024

The President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau MON, has assured football fans, administrators, and Nigerians at large that the football-governing body will adequately prepare the various national teams to bring joy and glory to the nation in the coming year.

Reflecting on the outgoing year, 2024, and projecting for 2025, Gusau expressed his delight with the Super Eagles’ emphatic victory over Ghana’s Black Galaxies to secure qualification for the 8th African Nations Championship. He emphasized that the NFF’s focus is to ensure all national teams are well-prepared to credibly compete for honors at major tournaments, rather than merely participating.

“The era of Nigerian teams attending major championships just to participate is over,” Gusau stated. “Our objective is to ensure that our teams are strong contenders for honors, and that can only be achieved through adequate preparation before qualifiers and competitions. I personally insisted on the Super Eagles B starting their camping early, and the result is evident in their performance against Ghana. With only a month to the CHAN tournament, the team must go into camp immediately, and we will ensure that happens.”

Gusau noted that while some national teams had impressive outings in 2024, the Super Eagles’ underwhelming performance in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers remains a concern for administrators, fans, and enthusiasts. “Our commitment is to rebuild the Super Eagles squad that nearly won the AFCON in Côte d’Ivoire, coming within 23 minutes of lifting the trophy. If we can achieve that, the goal of winning the remaining qualifiers to secure automatic World Cup qualification is attainable. Securing the World Cup ticket will set the tone for an outstanding AFCON campaign in Morocco later in the year.”

The NFF President also assured that the Super Falcons, Africa’s top-ranked women’s team in 2024, will receive adequate preparation to reclaim the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title in Morocco next summer. “We are organizing more friendly matches to help blend the old and new players into a formidable squad that can dominate Africa in style,” he said.

He praised the junior women’s national teams, the Falconets and Flamingos, for their qualifications and performances at their respective FIFA World Cup competitions in 2024. Gusau urged the Flamingos to view the upcoming FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup as an opportunity to make history by winning the trophy. He also highlighted the Falconets’ upcoming qualification matches for the 2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup.

“It’s undoubtedly a busy year for us and world football,” Gusau added. “The NFF remains committed to collaborating with the National Sports Commission to achieve our goals and will continue seeking greater corporate support for our activities, programs, and events. At the same time, we will focus on grassroots development to ensure the seamless production of talent for our national teams.”

NFF President Gusau Promises Improved Performance of National Teams in 2025

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