Nigeria's Super Falcons will not be at the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil, marking the first time in the nation's history that the team has failed to qualify for the global showpiece.
The 10-time WAFCON champions' hopes were dashed after a 2-1 defeat to South Africa in the CAF play-offs in Casablanca on Thursday.
The loss came just days after a heartbreaking 1-0 quarter-final loss to Cameroon at the ongoing WAFCON in Morocco, which denied Nigeria one of Africa's four automatic World Cup qualification tickets.
The Super Falcons' unprecedented failure to qualify for a World Cup is a stunning development for a team that has been a staple of the global tournament since its inception in 1991, having participated in every previous edition.
Following the defeat, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) issued a formal apology to President Bola Tinubu and Nigerians.
Despite the setback, the NFF had indicated a pathway remained open through the CAF play-offs, where Nigeria was among the four WAFCON quarter-final losers contesting for two remaining tickets to the FIFA Intercontinental Play-off tournament.
However, South Africa's victory in the Nigeria playoff match has brought the Super Falcons' World Cup dream to a definitive end. The defeat means the 2027 tournament will be the first Women's World Cup without the Super Falcons, ending a run of participation that stretched over 35 years.
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