Following Super Eagles' poor runs in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying matches, the board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has resolved to employ an expatriate 'Technical Adviser' for the team weeks ahead of the 2025 AFCON qualifiers and the remaining World Cup qualifying matches.
This was part of the resolution reached at its meeting on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Hybrid Mode.
The foreign technical adviser, if appointed, would be Finidi George's immediate boss. George was appointed as Super Eagles substantive coach earlier in April.
Before his appointment, he was an assistant to Jose Peseiro, whose contract ended in February. But his performance in his first two competitive games with the team has raised concerns among the general public.
The board also resolved to beef up the NFF Technical Department with more qualitative hands as well as re-jig its technical and development sub-committee with immediate effect.
The board, according to a communique issued at its meeting, frowned at the attitude of some of the Super Eagles players to national assignment and vowed to put in place a more robust scouting programme of outstanding Nigeria-eligible players from across the four corners of the universe, who can add tremendous value to the nation's flagship team.
"The Executive Committee wholeheartedly apologise to Nigerians for the dismal output and subsequent very poor returns of the Senior Men National Team, Super Eagles, in four out of 10 matches in the ongoing qualification series for the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals, and pledged to work assiduously and put necessary measures in place to ensure a better-prepared squad ahead of the AFCON 2025 qualifiers in September this year and the resumption of the World Cup qualifiers in March 2025.
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"Further to (1) above, the Executive Committee resolved to employ an expatriate Technical Adviser for the Super Eagles in the coming weeks, ahead of the AFCON qualifiers and the remaining FIFA World Cup qualifying matches.
"Still further to (1) above, the Committee resolved to beef up the NFF Technical Department with more qualitative hands. Equally, the Technical and Development Sub-Committee will be re-jigged with immediate effect.
"Notwithstanding the challenges that attended the team's preparations for the Day 3 and Day 4 games of the FIFA World Cup qualifying matches, owing to a 38-hour nationwide industrial action, the Board expressed displeasure with the poor attitude of some of the players to the National Assignment, and unanimously decided in favour of a more robust scouting programme of outstanding Nigeria-eligible players from across the four corners of the universe, who can add tremendous value to the nation's flagship team," the communique read in part.
