LESS than two months after his appointment, Finidi George has resigned as Super Eagles Head Coach following a poor run of games in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Finidi confirmed his resignation to Channels Television when contacted by the media outfit.
“Yes, it is true. I have resigned,” he wrote in response to inquiries.
Amid concerns over his resignation, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is yet to react to this development with Nigeria in a difficult situation for the 2026 World Cup qualification.
Though Finidi did not give reasons for his resignation, a notable Sports Journalist Adepoju Tobi Samuel said in his official X account-@OgaNlaMedia that the resignation hinged on the decision of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to appoint a foreign coach to head him due to his poor run of results.
Also confirming George’s resignation, ex-Super Eagles media officer, Toyin Ibitoye in a post on X.com on Saturday.
“News just in. Finidi George #FinidiGeorge_FG has resigned from his #NGSuperEagles manager position,” Ibitoye wrote.
George, 53, a former player for the Super Eagles, took over as head coach following Jose Peseiro’s 20-month contract expiration in February. But his relegation was the result of the team’s underwhelming performance in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin.
Under George as Head coach, Nigeria played two matches in the 2026 World Cup qualifier.
The team lost 2-1 against Benin Republic and drew 1 -1 against South Africa.
The Eagles are currently 5th on the table with 3 points after playing 4 matches.
At a meeting with Sports Minister John Enoh to evaluate his performance, George bemoaned the lack of assistance from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and questioned the dedication of Nigeria’s best players to the vital World Cup qualifiers
The NFF appointed George as the new head coach of the Super Eagles in April.
According to a statement released on Monday, April 29, the 52-year-old former Real Betis and Ajax Amsterdam forward was given the reins of the nation’s senior men’s team after the NFF Board approved the recommendation of its Technical and Development Committee.
Following the Super Eagles’ remarkable run to the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire, the Super Eagles gaffer at the tournament, José Santos Peseiro, a Portuguese, stepped down, and Finidi George, who had worked as his assistant for 20 months, took over as temporary coach.
The former Super Eagles player, George, oversaw two friendly matches in Morocco in March as interim manager.
The team won 2-1 against Ghana to snap an 18-year winless drought but then lost 0-2 to Mali.
“George, a member of the so-styled ‘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,” the NFF said in the statement.
According to the statement, one of his most unforgettable experiences was assisting the late Rashidi Yekini in scoring Nigeria’s first-ever FIFA World Cup goal against Bulgaria in Dallas, USA, on June 19, 1994.
George’s primary responsibility was to lead the side to victory in two key 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches against South Africa and the Benin Republic.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance