The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has formally appointed Finidi George, the former Super Eagles winger, as the new head coach of the senior men’s national team.
This announcement came via a statement released on Monday, following the approval of the recommendation by the NFF Board’s Technical and Development Committee.
Finidi George, a 52-year-old former player of Ajax Amsterdam and Real Betis, has been appointed as the new head coach of the senior men’s national team.
He previously served as an assistant to the outgoing José Santos Peseiro and took over as interim coach after Peseiro’s departure following the Super Eagles’ successful campaign in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
Recently, George led the team in two friendly matches in Morocco, securing a historic 2-1 victory against Ghana but suffering a 0-2 defeat to Mali.
George, a member of the ‘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 USA the same year, won 62 caps for Nigeria, including featuring at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup finals.
Reflecting on his remarkable career, the statement highlighted George’s accomplishments, including medals from multiple AFCON tournaments.
One standout moment in George’s career was providing the assist for Rashidi Yekini to score Nigeria’s first-ever FIFA World Cup goal against Bulgaria in Dallas, USA on 19th June 1994.
The immediate challenge for the new Super Eagles coach will be leading the team to victory in two crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against South Africa and the Benin Republic in Uyo and Abidjan, respectively, over the next five weeks.
These matches are must-win games, as the Super Eagles currently trail behind Rwanda and South Africa in third place in Group C of the African campaign.