President Bola Tinubu has called for a sweeping overhaul of Nigerian football, citing repeated failures to qualify for major tournaments as the catalyst for urgent structural change.

The directive was announced through a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, following the resignation of Nigeria Football Federation president Ibrahim Gusau and the entire NFF Executive Committee on Thursday.

A crisis of results and governance

Gusau and his board faced mounting pressure after a series of damaging results across Nigeria's national teams. Most critically, the Super Eagles failed to secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup — a significant blow to the country's footballing pride.

The Super Falcons compounded the pain by missing out on the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup, ending Nigeria's unbroken run at the tournament that dates back to its inaugural edition in 1991.

Tinubu acknowledged that while other sports had benefited from reform under the re-established National Sports Commission, football — Nigeria's most widely followed sport — had continued to fall short due to deep structural weaknesses.