- By Halimah Olamide
The Nigerian Football Federation has announced the appointment of former Super Eagles Winger, Finidi George as the new coach of the team.
The Super Eagles have been without a permanent coach since Portuguese tactician Jose Peseiro left the job after the end of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in February.
However, Finidi, who served as an assistant to Peseiro was named as interim manager and led the team in the last international break, when the Super Eagles lost 2-1 to Mali, but defeated Ghana 2-0.
Meanwhile, Finidi has now been confirmed as the new permanent coach of the three-time African champions.
Finidi currently serves as the coach of Nigeria Professional Football league side, and he has one league title to his name.
The 53-year-old possesses the UEFA A Coaching license, and he has worked as an assistant at Dutch club PEC Zwolle in the past.
Meanwhile, it is worthy of note that the NFF did not indicate if both parties signed a contract, neither did they state the duration of the deal.
George’s immediate task will be to guide the Super Eagles to victory in two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against South Africa and Benin Republic in Uyo and Abidjan, respectively, in a little over five weeks.
The matches are must-win encounters, with the Super Eagles lagging behind in third place in Group C of the African campaign behind Rwanda and South Africa.
George, a member of the so-styled ‘Golden Generation’ that won the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Tunisia and emerged as the second most entertaining team in Nigeria’s debut at the FIFA World Cup finals in the USA the same year, won 62 caps for Nigeria, including featuring at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup finals.