Finidi George has reportedly submitted his letter of resignation from his role as Super Eagles head coach to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
Tobi Adepoju, an accredited FIFA and CAF photojournalist, broke the news on his X social media page. A little over a month ago, Finidi took over as the team’s substantive coach, having previously served as Jose Peseiro’s assistant.
His resignation came on the heels of his demotion to the role of assistant coach, with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) announcing via official channels that he will be headed by an expatriate following a disappointing performance in the recent World Cup qualifiers.
Nigeria drew 1-1 with South Africa before losing 1-2 to Benin Republic. Their drop to 5th in their group, four points behind leaders Rwanda, significantly reduced their chances of qualifying for the World Cup 2026 compared to when Finidi took over as coach.
Finidi George exit means the NFF will now step up the process of looking for his successor, with the team set to get back into action in September, when the qualifiers for the next Africa Cup of Nations begin.
Finidi George slams NFF over senior players commitment, discipline
The embattled Super Eagles coach stated that he did not receive much support from the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF).
The former Enyimba coach bemoaned the team’s complete breakdown of discipline and was totally disappointed with how the players walked into training camp for the crucial World Cup qualifiers.
Influential NFF Board members, he claimed, supported many of these players, making it more difficult to sanction them because he frequently received warnings that a player “belonged” to a certain “big man.”
Finidi George used Victor Osimhen to drive home his point that the country’s top stars are not fully committed to the Super Eagles.
Osimhen missed the two crucial World Cup qualifiers due to an injury that kept him out of action for four weeks.
Finidi George said the Napoli striker could still have managed to play these matches.
“The coach went on to say that it appears that Osimhen chooses the games he plays for Nigeria, and he (Finidi) cannot beg him to play for his country.”
