While it's become a norm for football federation heads to resign after disappointing World Cup performances in other countries, Nigeria's football leaders remain untouched by the global trend.
In a shocking turn of events, several national team coaches have resigned their appointments after failing to live up to expectations at the ongoing World Cup. Italy's football federation head, Gabriele Gravina, resigned after Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for the third time in a row. He was joined by Italian national team delegation chief Gianluigi Buffon and head coach Gennaro Gattuso. Libyan Football Federation President Abdelhakim Al-Shalmani also resigned, stating that he did not want to be associated with the failure of Libyan sports.
Saudi Arabia's coach, Hervé Renard, resigned after the Green Falcons were eliminated in the group stages of the World Cup. Tunisia sacked head coach Sabri Lamouchi following their humiliating 5-1 defeat to Sweden in their opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Ronald Koeman, the head coach of the Netherlands, stepped down following his country's shock Round of 32 elimination at the hands of Morocco. Steve Clarke resigned as Scotland's head coach after the nation's group-stage elimination, while Hong Myung-bo, the head coach of South Korea, resigned less than 24 hours after the country's group-stage elimination. Germany coach, Julian Nagelsmann, also agreed to leave his position.
In a surprising move, Germany's DFB announced that Nagelsmann had agreed to go following talks with senior officials. The 38-year-old leaves his position four days after Germany were stunned by Paraguay, losing 4-3 on penalties in one of the biggest upsets of the 2026 World Cup knockouts.
In a recent move, Yasser al-Misehal, the president of the Saudi football association, resigned after the team was eliminated in the group stages. Al-Misehal took responsibility for the team's failure, stating that the loss was a result that fell short of all their ambitions. His decision to resign is a sign of the changing times in football, where federation heads are taking responsibility for their team's failures.
In Nigeria, however, things seem to be different. The NFF's leadership has been criticized for its handling of the Super Eagles' performance, but no heads have rolled yet. The country's football lovers are waiting with bated breath to see if the NFF's president and other officials will follow the global trend and resign after their team's disappointing performance in the World Cup.
Key Facts
• The Nigerian Super Eagles were eliminated from the World Cup after losing to Italy in the playoffs. • The NFF's president has not resigned after the team's failure. • Several national team coaches have resigned their appointments after failing to live up to expectations at the World Cup. • Yasser al-Misehal, the president of the Saudi football association, resigned after the team was eliminated in the group stages. • The NFF's leadership has been criticized for its handling of the Super Eagles' performance.