The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has cited “tax details” as the reason for the collapse of its plan to appoint Bruno Labbadia as the new head coach of the Super Eagles, despite having announced his appointment earlier this week.
Labbadia, who previously managed Stuttgart, Wolfsburg, and Bayer Leverkusen, was a surprising choice after the NFF’s attempts to secure former Sweden coach Janne Andersson or two-time Africa Cup of Nations winner Hervé Renard fell through.
In a statement on social media, NFF president Ibrahim Musa Gusau explained: “The NFF and Mr. Labbadia had reached an agreement in principle before we announced his appointment as the head coach of the Super Eagles. The tax details were not discussed initially, and he had agreed to all terms until the tax issue surfaced.
“We tried to be flexible in the discussions, but he insisted that the NFF cover the full tax amount, which we simply cannot do.”
With the deal falling apart, NFF Technical Director Augustine Eguavoen will step in as interim head coach for the upcoming 2025 Nations Cup qualifiers, starting with a home match against Benin on 7 September, followed by a trip to Rwanda on 10 September.
Eguavoen is no stranger to taking the reins temporarily—this will be his fourth stint as interim head coach. However, with the recent departure of Portuguese coach José Peseiro, who led the team to the Africa Cup of Nations final in February, and the brief tenure of Finidi George, who coached just two matches of a two-year contract, fans are left wondering when the Super Eagles will finally achieve stability in their coaching ranks.
