Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) General Secretary, Dr. Muhammed Sanusi, has sparked widespread outrage following his response to the Super Falcons’ shocking failure to secure direct qualification at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.
The 10-time African champions lost 1-0 to rivals Cameroon on Sunday after conceding an early goal. The defeat cost them one of Africa’s four automatic tickets to the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.
Speaking after the loss, Sanusi did not talk about tactics or preparation. Instead, he compared football to science, saying it doesn’t always add up.
“I’ve always been saying that football is science, but more difficult than science,” he said. “In science, when you add 1 + 1, it gives you 2… But in football, you can do all your calculations and it will give you either positive or negative. That is what football has done to us.”
He then linked the result to religion, saying: “As Muslims and Christians, we know that what God has destined to happen is what will happen, and that was what happened.”
Sanusi added that Nigerians should accept the team “cannot continue to win all the time.”
Fans and football stakeholders have criticised the comments, saying the federation should be looking at what went wrong instead of blaming luck or destiny.
Meanwhile, the Super Falcons still have a route to the World Cup. They face South Africa on Thursday in a CAF play-off, alongside fellow quarter-final losers Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. A win over South Africa sends Nigeria into a global play-off tournament, where only three of six teams from around the world will book a ticket to Brazil 2027. Nigeria have appeared at every Women’s World Cup since it began in 1991, and cannot afford to lose again if that record is to continue.