U-23 Eagles, Super Falcons Risk Missing Out Of Los Angeles 2028 Games 

***Over NSC, NFF Feud

By Harry Awurumibe, Africa’s No.1 Women Football Journalist

With the Los Angeles Olympic Games 2028 men and women’s football tournament Confederation of African (CAF) qualifiers coming thick and fast, there is need for the National Sports Commission (NSC) and its agency Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to end their feud immediately and close ranks to prepare the Super Falcons and U-23 Eagles adequately to avoid Nigeria’s absence again in a global sports competition billed for the United States of America (USA).

Recall that Nigeria’s Super Eagles missed the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals hosted in the summer by USA, Mexico and Canada while the Super Falcons also did not qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil after suffering three crushing defeats in the hands of debutants Malawi, arch-rivals Cameroon and South Africa in the recently concluded Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) held in Morocco.

However, Nigeria has another opportunity to banish the disappointment of the Super Eagles and Super Falcons missing out in the men’s and women’s World Cup finals by ensuring that the U-23 Eagles nicknamed Dream Team after winning the football Gold medal in Atlanta, USA in 1996 and 10-time African champions Super Falcons qualify for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games men’s and women’s football tournament.

But this dream may soon evaporate like the early morning dews because of the continued feud between the NFF led by Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau and its superving NSC headed by Mallam Shehu Dikko which has taken its tools in the operations of the country’s football governing body.

It is no longer news that the Commission had since taken over the payment of allowances and match entitlements directly to the Super Eagles and Super Falcons players, a situation which has caused a cold war between the two federal government’s organisations.

This feud came to a head during the Super Falcons’ ill-fated WAFCON outing in Morocco when the Commission took it a notch further by appointing a Team Coordinator for the Super Falcons with a sweeping power to take over the administrative duties of the team which was already being handled by the federation’s staff.

Also, the failure of the team to qualify for the next World Cup either directly or African Play-off by losing 2-1 to South Africa triggered more feud between the NSC and NFF so much that the Commission is being fingered by the later to be masterminding the ouster of the federation’s leadership.

In the midst of the feud between the two, the Super Falcons and U-23 Eagles have crucial Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games CAF qualifiers in October and November  respectively even as Nigeria can not afford to falter again.

Nigeria’s Super Falcons will face Comoros in the second round of the CAF qualifiers two-legged knockout first leg and second leg billed for October 5–13, 2026.

Nigeria received a bye into this second round, while Comoros reached this stage after a historic 30–0 aggregate win against Sudan in June 2026 (winning the first leg 17–0 and the second leg 13–0).

The winner of Nigeria and Comoros aggregate tie moves on to the third round (scheduled for February/March 2027) to face either Morocco or Congo.

In the same vein, Nigeria’s U-23 Eagles will face either Mauritania or the Democratic Republic of Congo in the second round of the 2027 U-23 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers after receiving a bye into the stage.

The draw was held in Cairo, Egypt, on Tuesday, with Nigeria among 14 nations given a bye into the second round based on their performances in the last three editions of the competition.

Mauritania and the Democratic Republic of Congo will meet in the first round, with the winner advancing to face Nigeria.

The first-round ties are scheduled for September 28 and October 6, while Nigeria’s second-round fixtures will be played on November 9 and 17, with the Olympic Eagles playing the first leg away from home.

If Nigeria progress, they will face the winner of the tie involving Burkina Faso and either Sierra Leone or Zambia in the third and final round, scheduled for March 22-30, 2027.

Seven teams will qualify for the finals alongside hosts Egypt, with the eight-team tournament also serving as Africa’s qualifying competition for the men’s football event.

Nigeria missed out on the Paris 2024 Olympics after losing to Guinea in the final qualifying tournament and will be seeking a return to the continental competition.

Meanwhile, Nigeria will miss out on the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics men’s and women’s football tournament if the feud between NSC and NFF continue unless both close ranks to work towards preparing the Super Falcons and U-23 Eagles adequately for the CAF qualifiers two-legged knockout matches in October and November.

This is even as the Olympic Games and All African Games football  tournament fall under the management of the NSC and Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC) but with the NFF bestowed with the powers to prepare and present strong teams that will represent Nigeria in the CAF qualifiers and main events in Los Angeles, USA.