Former Ajax winger, Finidi George, has revealed the reason why he stepped down from the Super Eagles coaching role after just two games in charge, Soccernet.ng reports.
A vibrant right-winger for the Super Eagles in his playing days, Finidi won the 1994 AFCON tournament with Nigeria. He also won the UEFA Champions League and the Super Cup with Ajax. He started his coaching career with a brief stint in the Real Betis, before returning to the NPFL to take charge of Enyimba, winning the league in his second season at the club.
Along with his Enyimba role, Finidi worked with the Super Eagles as Jose Peseiro's assistant. After the AFCON tournament, the Portuguese coach’s contract wasn’t renewed by the NFF, leaving the position vacant at the end of February.
Last month, after a thorough meeting with the Nigerian Football Federation, Finidi was appointed to be the head coach of the Super Eagles and was immediately given the sole responsibility of qualifying the team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but things got ugly real quick.
In two qualifying games, the Super Eagles drew to South Africa in Uyo, before losing to Gernot Rohr’s Benin Republic in Ivory Coast, and to worsen the situation, the coach got called out by Victor Osimhen for supposedly questioning his commitment to the Nigerian National team.
Why Finidi Resigned
As per multiple reports, Finidi relinquished his role as the head coach of the Super Eagles due to the changes in the technical crew of the team. António Conceição, former Cameroon head coach, was to come in as a technical adviser, which meant a demotion for Finidi, and a salary reduction. A decision he had no idea of.
“I am writing you of my decision to step down as the head coach of the Super Eagles, Nigeria’s men’s senior team. This decision is in light of the recent decision to effect changes to the team’s technical crew. Although our recent results in the qualifying matches were not as desired, I remained committed to getting our World Cup qualification campaign back on track. However, with the recent changes to the technical crew, I believe it is time to vacate my position. Please be assured of my continued support for the team, and I wish us all the best for the future,” Finidi wrote in his resignation letter to the Nigerian Football Federation.
Similar to Colin Udoh’s investigation when he reportedly reached out to Finidi George on the matter, the ESPN press officer corroborated the quotes above, reiterating that the ex-Ipswich Town winger was not aware of the NFF's decision to hire António Conceição. The act showed a lack of trust in Finidi, leading the former Enyimba International coach to hand in a resignation letter.
I decided to provide some clarity on the Osimhen/Finidi situation pic.twitter.com/nwHEL7KtNv
— Colin NOT Collins 🇳🇬🇺🇸 (@ColinUdoh) June 15, 2024
Following this action, there is no official statement on Finidi’s social media pages, and the NFF has likewise gone silent on the matter with no statement.
However, Soccernet.ng reached out to the former Ajax star to confirm these statements, he revealed that he can’t respond to anything at the moment.
Nigeria will kick their AFCON qualifiers off as next season resumes and their FIFA World Cup qualifiers will continue in March 2025.
