The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has appointed Finidi George as the new Super Eagles head coach.
The NFF announced Finidi’s appointment in a communique on Monday.
“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,” the statement reads.
The former international beat Emmanuel Amuneke to the job.
Finidi, 52-year-old would be the permanent replacement for Jose Santos Peseiro, who he worked with as an assistant coach for 20 months with the Super Eagles.
The Portuguese voluntarily left the job in February after leading the team to a silver medal-winning campaign at the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire 2023.
Finidi was the Super Eagles’ interim head coach for two international friendlies against Ghana and Mali in March.
He led the Eagles to a 2-1 victory over Ghana in his first game at the helm but lost 2-0 to Mali in the second game.
Finidi, known for his storied wing play, represented Nigeria at the highest level as a player for over a decade. He was part of the Eagles squad that won the 1994 AFCON and participated in Nigeria’s debut at the FIFA World Cup that same year.
He also won the 1995 UEFA Champions League with Ajax.
After retiring from football in 2004, Finidi acquired a UEFA A Coaching Licence. The qualification earned him roles in La Liga’s Real Betis and Real Mallorca as director of international football and youth team coach, respectively.
He joined Enyimba FC in 2021 and helped the club to its ninth Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) title in 2023.
Finidi’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 June.
The matches are must-win encounters with the Super Eagles lagging in third place in Group C of the African campaign behind Rwanda and South Africa.
The Super Eagles drew their first two games of the campaign to Lesotho and Zimbabwe.
