Nigeria finally ended their long search for a new head coach in January 2025.
Finidi George stepped aside amid a terrible start to their qualification campaign for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Augustine Eguavoen overseeing some more positive results during the international breaks in September, October and November 2024.
A goalless draw and 3-1 win in two games against Ghana in African Nations Championship qualifying in December marked the end of Eguavoen’s interim spell in charge, with Nigeria’s protracted search for a new permanent coach finally coming to an end early in the new year.
MORE: Can Nigeria still qualify for World Cup 2026? Super Eagles match schedule and what they need to reach FIFA finals
Eric Chelle appointed next Nigeria head coach
The Nigerian Football Federation announced on January 7 that Eric Chelle had been appointed the Super Eagles’ new head coach.
The former Mali and Lens boss took charge with immediate effect. His first task will be to assemble a squad for the March international break, when Nigeria will face Rwanda and Zimbabwe in potentially pivotal World Cup qualifiers.
Was Augustine Eguavoen Nigeria head coach?
NFF technical director Augustine Eguavoen stepped in for his fourth spell in interim charge of the Super Eagles after the poor start to World Cup qualifying hastened the end of Finidi George’s brief tenure.
Following the stalemate with Rwanda, reports emerged that Eguavoen had stepped down from his position — reports the man himself was forced to deny.
“Whatever people are reading out there is not correct, I am still in charge,” the 59-year-old said, as reported by Nigerian publication Vanguard.
“I am the technical director of the Nigeria Football Federation and it is my responsibility to manage the Super Eagles at this moment. That is where we stand.
“I only mentioned that I would sit down with the hierarchy of the federation after these two games to discuss our approach for the next matches.”
Why did Bruno Labbadia not become Nigeria coach?
The plan was always for Eguavoen to take charge of the home and away October AFCON qualifiers against Libya. The NFF thought they had Finidi’s successor in place from November onwards, but it was not to be.
In late August, former Stuttgart, Wolfsburg and Bayer Leverkusen head coach Bruno Labbadia agreed to become Nigeria boss. However, the deal collapsed as the NFF blamed “tax details”.
President Ibrahim Musa Gusau said: “The NFF and Mr. Labbadia reached an agreement in principle before we made the announcement that he would become the head coach of the Super Eagles.
“The tax details were never part of our discussions, and he had personally agreed to all terms before the tax issue came up.
“We were doing our best to be flexible in the discussions, but he was adamant that the NFF had to pay the full tax amount as well. We simply cannot do that.”
Why did Finidi George resign from Nigeria job?
Finidi George initially took charge on an interim basis when Jose Peseiro departed after Nigeria’s loss to Ivory Coast in February’s AFCON final.
He oversaw a 2-1 win over Ghana in his first game in charge — the Super Eagles’ first victory over the Black Stars in 18 years. They then suffered a 2-0 loss to Mali, with both friendlies taking place in Morocco.
He was then given the full-time role despite concern among fans that he was ill-equipped for such a high-profile position. His only two competitive games in charge were those World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin, which left him with a record of one win, one draw, and two defeats from four games.
