The head coaches of three major Nigerian women’s football national teams – Justin Madugu, Bankole Olowookere and Moses Aduku – must now have female assistants in order for them to keep their jobs, Sports247 reports.
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This follows a new verdict by FIFA, as the global body seeks the involvement of more female tacticians in women’s teams either as head coaches or assistants, with the directive taking effect immediately.
The FIFA verdict is bound to directly affect Madugu and Aduku, as they still have major competitions coming up later this year, but Olowookere had his most recent assignment in 2025.
FIFA’s new stand, which was announced on Thursday, cuts across all women’s football competitions at national team and club levels, meaning that Madugu and Aduku must both have at least one female assistant each for them to keep their jobs.
While Madugu initially worked on an interim basis in charge of Nigeria’s senior squad, Super Falcons, he made a strong case for a permanent role after winning a 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title for the country.
Madugu, a 61-year-old CAF A licensed instructor, signed a two-year contract extension in October 2025 following his success with the team at the 2024 WAFCON and is poised to take them to this year’s edition.
In similar vein, Olowookere has had a sterling run in charge of the under-17 squad, Flamingos, which he has been in charge of since 2022, with three outings at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup to his name.
Olowookere created history by guiding the Flamingos to a third-place finish at the 2022 Female Cadet Mundial in India, after which he also led them to the quarter-finals in 2024 and round of 16 in 2025.
Aduku is the most recent on the trio, as he only took over the youth squad (Falconets) last year, but he has already qualified them for this year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup billed to take place in Poland from September 5th to 27th.
The former men’s youth international, who had previously coached Bayelsa Queens of Yenagoa and Edo Queens of Benin City in the domestic league, was appointed by Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in July 2025.
It’s now left to be seen what the fate of these three top coaches in the country’s women’s teams will be, as the NFF will have to quickly start making alternative plans in order to blend into FIFA’s new directive.
Sports247 reports that a statement on Thursday read in part: “FIFA will require every team participating in its women’s tournaments to have a female head coach or assistant after passing groundbreaking regulations at its council meeting.
“The measure comes into effect from the U20 Women’s World Cup in September, and will be enforced at the Women’s World Cup in Brazil next year, as well as at the second edition of Women’s Champions Cup and the inaugural Women’s Club World Cup in two years’ time.”
FIFA’s chief football officer and former United States head coach, Jill Ellis noted that the new rules, which apply to all youth and senior national team competitions and clubs, also mandate at least two female staff on the bench, which can include the mandatory coach.
“There are simply not enough women in coaching today. We must do more to accelerate change by creating clearer pathways, expanding opportunities, and increasing the visibility for women on our sidelines.
“The new FIFA regulations, combined with targeted development programmes, mark an important investment in both the current and future generation of female coaches,” Elis pointed out.
