Dennerby Emerges as Leading Candidate to Return as Super Falcons Coach
Former Super Falcons head coach Thomas Dennerby has emerged as a leading contender to take charge of Nigeria’s women’s national team again, with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) working to appoint a new technical crew ahead of the 2028 Olympic qualifiers, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
The NFF is understood to have opened discussions with the 65-year-old Swedish tactician as it seeks to rebuild the Falcons following their disappointing outing at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Nigeria entered the tournament as defending champions but failed to retain the title and subsequently missed out on qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The setback led the previous NFF administration under former president Ibrahim Gusau to ask the technical crew headed by Justin Madugu to step aside in August.
Madugu had previously delivered a major success with the Falcons, guiding them to a record-extending 10th WAFCON title in 2025.
With the next phase of the 2028 Olympic qualifying campaign scheduled for October, the interim NFF administration led by Emmanuel Ikpeme is keen to appoint a new technical team before Nigeria’s next competitive fixture.
National Sports Commission Director-General Bukola Olopade had earlier confirmed that changes to the Falcons’ technical structure were being considered as Nigeria targets qualification for the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
“The Olympics are around the corner; we will see how we can tweak the technical team of the Falcons as we did for the U-23, which coach Eric Chelle will handle. This is because we are desirous of qualifying for the Olympics,” Olopade said in August.
Although discussions with Dennerby are reportedly ongoing, Nigerian coaches remain in contention for the position.
Former Super Falcons captain and coach Florence Omagbemi is also understood to be among those being considered. Omagbemi famously guided Nigeria to the 2016 WAFCON title.
Dennerby, however, is believed to be high on the NFF’s shortlist because of his previous achievements with the team.
The Swede took over as Super Falcons coach in January 2018 and quickly made his mark by leading Nigeria to the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations title in Ghana later that year.
He subsequently guided the Falcons to the knockout stage of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, ending Nigeria’s 20-year wait to reach the Round of 16 at the tournament.
Dennerby left his position in September 2019 following an administrative dispute with the NFF before later taking charge of the Indian women’s national team, where he remained until his contract expired in 2023.
Nigeria eventually returned to the women’s football tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after a 16-year absence but failed to advance from the group stage.
Following the country’s failure to qualify for the 2027 World Cup, the Olympic qualifiers now offer the Falcons an opportunity to rebuild and secure another place on the global stage.
Nigeria are scheduled to face Comoros in October in the next round of the Olympic qualifying campaign.
Comoros reached the second round after recording a remarkable 30-0 aggregate victory over Sudan. They won the first leg 17-0 on June 3 before completing the rout with a 13-0 victory in the return fixture five days later.
With the Olympic qualification campaign approaching, the NFF faces increasing pressure to resolve the coaching situation and establish a stable technical structure ahead of the crucial encounter with Comoros.
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