Thomas Dennerby Linked to Return as Nigeria’s Super Falcons Coach

Thomas Dennerby could return to the Super Falcons as the Nigeria Football Federation searches for a coach before the team’s next Olympic qualifiers.

The Swedish manager is reportedly in talks with the NFF and is said to be at the top of its list. Nigerian coaches have not been ruled out, with Florence Omagbemi, who led Nigeria to the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title in 2016, also mentioned as a possible candidate.

The coaching search follows the decision by the NFF’s former leadership to ask Justine Madugu and his technical crew to step down after Nigeria’s disappointing campaign at the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. Nigeria failed to defend its title and missed qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Madugu’s team had nevertheless delivered a record-extending 10th WAFCON title in 2025.

The NFF’s interim leadership, headed by Emmanuel Ikpeme, is seeking an appointment before the Super Falcons resume their qualification campaign for the 2028 Olympic Games in October. Nigeria’s first listed opponent is Comoros. Sports official Bukola Olopade said the team would receive a new technical crew before the qualifiers because the country wanted to qualify for the Olympics.

Dennerby previously coached the Super Falcons from January 2018 to September 2019. He guided them to the 2018 African Women’s Cup of Nations title in Ghana and to the knockout stage of the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, Nigeria’s first appearance in that stage in two decades. He left after an administrative dispute with the football federation and later coached India’s women’s national team until his contract ended in 2023.

Nigeria returned to the women’s Olympic football tournament at Paris 2024 after a 16-year absence but exited in the group stage. Comoros reached the second qualifying round after defeating Sudan 30-0 on aggregate, including a 17-0 first-leg win and a 13-0 victory in the return match.

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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.