Bruno Labbadia, the newly appointed head coach of Nigeria’s Super Eagles, rejected his appointment just three days after being officially unveiled by the Nigerian Football Federation.
The news was first reported by the German sports website Kicker on Friday.
According to the report, Labbadia, who had been in negotiations with the NFF for a week, ultimately decided against signing the contract.
“Bruno Labbadia will not be the new national coach of Nigeria. The 58-year-old German football coach had been negotiating with the Africans for a week and, according to information from Kicker, decided against a contract on Friday,” the website revealed.
Labbadia’s appointment was initially announced on Tuesday morning through a tweet from the NFF’s official X handle, where the federation expressed confidence in his ability to lead the national team.
The tweet read, “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’s national team, Super Eagles.”
The federation’s General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, also confirmed the decision, stating, “The NFF Executive Committee has approved the recommendation of its Technical and Development sub-committee to appoint Mr. Bruno Labbadia as the Head Coach of the Super Eagles.”
Labbadia, who was set to become the 37th head coach of the Super Eagles following the resignation of former coach Finidi George, was expected to end months of speculation regarding the national team’s leadership.
However, this unexpected development now leaves the Super Eagles without a coach, once again plunging the team into uncertainty just as preparations for upcoming international fixtures were set to begin.
The NFF is now faced with the challenge of finding a new coach capable of leading Nigeria’s senior men’s team to success on the global stage.