The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has appointed German Bruno Labbadia as the new head coach of the Super Eagles, replacing Finidi George.
German, Bruno Labbadia, becomes 37th Head Coach of the @NGSuperEagles
— The NFF 🇳🇬 (@thenff) August 27, 2024
The Nigeria Football Federation has announced that it has reached an agreement with German tactician, Bruno Labbadia, to become the Head Coach of Nigeria’s Senior Men National Team, Super Eagles. pic.twitter.com/AKq92upW4g
George, who was appointed late April, was sacked due to poor results after a 1-1 draw with South Africa and a 2-1 loss to Benin in June, leaving the Super Eagles with just three points from four matches in Group C of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Labbadia, a 58-year-old former German international striker, will take charge of the team for next month’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin and Rwanda.
His first matches will be against Benin on September 7 in Uyo, followed by an away match against Rwanda on September 10.
According to NFF Secretary General Mohammed Sanusi, “the Executive Committee of the Nigerian Football Federation has approved the recommendation of its technical and development sub-committees to appoint Bruno Labbadia as the head of the Super Eagles,” adding that “the appointment comes into effect immediately.”
Labbadia previously played for Kaiserslautern and Bayern Munich.
He later coached several teams in the German league, such as Stuttgart, Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg, without winning any titles.
Labbadia is the sixth German to lead Nigeria, which reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations last February before losing to Ivory Coast 2-1, but missed the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
