Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Ibrahim Musa Gusau, has revealed why the Super Falcons were spotted training in old match gear instead of their official training kits during the ongoing 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco, Soccernet.ng reports.
Photos of the Super Falcons in outdated training kits surfaced online this week, sparking criticism from Nigerian football community, with many questioning the whereabouts of the official tournament gear supplied by Nike.
In an exclusive interview with journalist Osasu Obayiuwana on Friday in Casablanca, before flying to New York for the FIFA Club World Cup final, Gusau confirmed that the team’s new training kits were stuck with Moroccan customs.
“It is good that you are asking this question. The kit was supposed to come earlier than this time, before people start talking whatever they are talking. Nike have done their best. The agreement with Nike is that they send kit for tournaments to the venue of the tournament,” Gusau said.
“The kit is in Casablanca. They are stuck with Moroccan customs. DHL tried to sort it out and see how they could get the kit to the players’ hotel [but without success]. I was in Rabat to see FRMF (Morocco FA) officials to see how they can help us get the kit out.
“I can show you the invoice that was sent to DHL (which he did, on his phone), which we are working on, to ensure that the kit is immediately released. Every country has its processes. Sometimes you find them easy and sometimes you find them cumbersome. Within a couple of days everything will be sorted out.”
The ladies are back on the grind !
Fresh off a 3-1 win over Ghana, the Super Falcons are locked in and ready to fly .#MissionX kicks off in a few days, we can’t wait to get started!#SoarSuperFalcons #WAFCON2024 pic.twitter.com/fMzjn4uyt2
— NGSuper_Falcons (@NGSuper_Falcons) July 1, 2025
When pressed on the exact timeline, Gusau admitted the kit only arrived in Morocco two days after Nigeria’s opening match against Tunisia.
“The kit arrived on Monday, I think,” he said. “It’s an issue of logistics. The kit was sent a little bit late. And sometimes, the coaches have to make a decision. There are certain kit meant for particular people, and we have to get the right sizes. It is only when we got those sizes that we fill the particular forms for Nike, to get the kit that we will use for a tournament like this. But if the kit had arrived on Monday, all these issues would not have been there.”
With Morocco also hosting the men’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) later this year, Gusau admitted lessons have been learned from this episode.
“We are discussing at a high level with Nike. Some of their officials will be in Morocco on Sunday and will be with the team to watch some of the matches, for two or three days, and see how they can fix some of these problems,” Gusau concluded.
The Super Falcons have already secured their place in the WAFCON quarterfinals after two wins from two matches, despite the kit challenges.