ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Ibrahim Gusau resigned as president of the Nigeria Football Federation on Thursday after mounting pressure that followed the country’s failure to qualify for major tournaments.
The federation said its general secretary Mohammed Sanusi has also resigned. Gusau, in the post since 2022, said he made the decision after consulting with stakeholders and family.
The federation had launched a fact-finding committee to investigate the country’s recent poor performances in international competitions.
The Super Eagles, the men's team, failed to qualify for the World Cup, losing 4-3 on penalties to Democratic Republic of Congo.
The women’s team, known as the Super Falcons, didn't qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup after losing earlier this month 2-1 to South Africa in an intercontinental playoff. The team had always qualified for the tournament since it began in 1991.
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
FILE - Nigeria players pose for a team photo ahead of the World Cup African qualifier soccer match between DR Congo and Nigeria in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/File)
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona's World Cup winners with Spain will not be honored by the club at its first home game of the season on Thursday because of an incident involving the “estelada” flag, Catalonia's pro-independence symbol.
Instead, an act supporting the estelada organized by a local group was expected to take place at Camp Nou stadium, with some 10,000 flags given to fans.
Barcelona has eight World Cup champions in its squad, the most of any club, and it planned a tribute to them before its Spanish league home opener against Athletic Bilbao.
Other Spanish clubs, in partnership with the Spanish soccer federation, had honored their own World Cup champions in tributes that included the displaying of the World Cup trophy and the presence of Spain coach Luis de la Fuente.
Barcelona said it didn't intend to go ahead with the tribute after one of its fans had an estelada flag taken away from him by police before the team's game at Elche last weekend. The young fan confronted the officers, who hit him with batons before detaining him.
The Catalan club said it regretted the confiscation of the flags from its fans, saying the estelada "is a legally endorsed symbol and its display constitutes a legitimate exercise of freedom of expression." It said “it cannot in itself be considered an incitement to hatred or violence.”
Barcelona said it considered the “procedure used to detain one of our fans was disproportionate and that the use of force lacked the necessary justification and appropriateness.”
The incident quickly escalated to the political sphere, with local politicians expressing their opinions.
A Catalan organization was planning to hand out 10,000 estelada flags outside the Camp Nou before Thursday's game. Barcelona club president Joan Laporta highlighted the peaceful “act of exaltation of the estelada,” which he said represented the Catalans' right to freedom of expression. Barcelona was not directly organizing the event.
Laporta said it was not “the most appropriate moment” to offer the tribute to the Spain players, adding that “soccer must unite, not generate confrontations.”
Laporta said the Spanish soccer federation understood the club's position.
The eight Barcelona players who helped Spain win its second World Cup trophy last month are Joan García, Eric García, Pedri, Pau Cubarsí, Gavi, Rodri, Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal.
See AP’s full soccer coverage here
Barcelona's Fermin Lopez, left, celebrates after scoring his side's his fifth goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Elche and Barcelona in Elche, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
