The Nigerian men football team, Super Eagles’ coach, Finidi George, has stepped down.
This was made known by former Super Eagles media officer, Toyin Ibitoye, in a post on X.com on Saturday.
He wrote, “News just in. Finidi George #FinidiGeorge_FG has resigned from his #NGSuperEagles manager position.”
This follows the Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) decision to appoint a foreign coach to oversee the team’s affairs.
He took the reins after Jose Peseiro’s contract ended in February, after serving as his assistant for 20 months.
However, the team’s disappointing performance in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin led to his demotion.
George had stated that he did not receive much support from the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF).
He had said these when he along with NFF chieftains met with Sports Minister, John Enoh, in Abuja to review the Super Eagles’ tottering 2026 World Cup campaign after they held South Africa to a 1-1 draw in Uyo before they were shocked by lowly Benin 2-1 in Abidjan.
Finidi had also used the poster boy of Nigerian footballer, Victor Osimhen, to drive home his point that the country’s top stars are not fully committed to the Super Eagles.
Osimhen was not available for the two all-important World Cup qualifiers with an official explanation that he was injured and sidelined for four weeks.
Finidi had said the Napoli striker could still have managed to play these matches, The Nation reports.
“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.”
The former Enyimba coach also bemoaned the complete breakdown of discipline in the team and was totally disappointed with how the players strolled into training camp for the crucial World Cup qualifiers.
He had said many of these players had the backing of some powerful NFF Board members and that it became increasingly difficult to sanction them because he would often be warned that a player “belonged” to a certain “big man.”