Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, have announced former international Finidi George as the Super Eagles’ new manager.
A statement on the NFF website confirming the appointment of the former Enyimba International head coach reads;
“The Board of Nigeria Football Federation on Monday approved the recommendation of its Technical and Development Committee to appoint former ace winger Finidi George as Head Coach of the Senior Men National Football Team, Super Eagles.”
Finidi George’s emergence as the Super Eagles head coach is no surprise. He was tipped as a favorite to replace Jose Peseiro as Super Eagles head coach as the Nigeria football’s governing hinted at looking inwards for indigenous hands to man the top job in the Super Eagles’ coaching hierarchy.
Another indigenous manager, who was in the running to replace coach Jose Peseiro, was Emmanuel Amuneke. Austin Eguavoen was also on the shortlist for a possible return after his previous spell with the team.
Amidst the endless list of shortlisted names, Finidi George stood out with his experience and historic career with the team. He worked closely with Jose Peseiro as assistant manager for one year and eight months, and was part of the team’s technical crew in the just-concluded 2023 AFCON.
After the departure of Jose Perseiro, he was appointed interim manager, overseeing Nigeria’s two friendlies in March 2023 against Ghana and Mali
The former Ajax forward got off the mark on his first match incharge, leading the team to a 2-1 victory over Ghana to end the Super Eagles’ 18-year winless deadlock against the Black Stars.
However, he stumbled in the second friendly, losing to Mali 2-0 with his newly-assembled squad and rejigged style of play.
As of the time of filing this report, details of Finidi George’s contract with the Super Eagles has yet to be revealed. Nevertheless, he is expected to resume duties immediately, and will oversee the team’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin Republic in June 2024.
