Finidi George
While the public feud between Victor Osimhen and Finidi George has dominated headlines, a more pressing issue has quietly unraveled.
Finidi George has resigned as head coach of the Super Eagles, just a month after his appointment.
Finidi’s tenure began on a shaky note, with the Super Eagles suffering a damaging 1-0 defeat to the Benin Republic following a 1-1 draw against South Africa. These results have jeopardized Nigeria’s chances of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a situation made more critical by the country’s failure to qualify for the 2022 tournament.
In response, the Sports Ministry has queried the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF).
The NFF subsequently announced plans to appoint a foreign Technical Adviser who would oversee Finidi, effectively demoting him to his previous role as assistant coach. Reports indicate Finidi’s salary would be reduced from N15 million to N5 million.
Finidi alleges that the NFF did not communicate these changes to him clearly, a move arguably more disrespectful than Osimhen’s viral rant.
While Osimhen’s social media outburst drew widespread attention, the NFF’s handling of Finidi’s situation has been more damaging.
Finidi George is a respected figure in Nigerian football, having enjoyed a successful playing career with Ajax, including winning the UEFA Champions League. He has also proven his coaching credentials, leading Enyimba to the NPFL title and serving as assistant coach when Nigeria reached the AFCON final in February.
Despite not being the most obvious choice for head coach, the NFF saw potential in Finidi when they appointed him. Rather than supporting him through initial challenges, they appeared to undermine him after just two games.
Finidi faced numerous challenges, including injuries to key players and late arrivals to camp. While he may have made mistakes, it was expected that his bosses would support him.
Instead, it seems the NFF set him up to fail, giving them an excuse to revert to foreign coaches who often receive better support than their local counterparts.
Finidi should certainly address Osimhen’s disrespectful comments, but he must not lose sight of the larger issue—the NFF’s treatment. The true insult and disrespect come from the NFF, which has failed to back one of Nigeria’s football legends in his time of need.
NB: Did the NFF treat Finidi well as the Super Eagles coach? Leave your comments below.
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We clamoured for the appointment of Amunike a tested coach who has won U17 World Cup and also qualified Tanzania for her fist afcon, nff went and appointed someone who his best record is Enyimba fc of Aba, who has no experience with the senior team.
Nff should be held responsible for this mishap.
Nigerians are good at destroying their own stars. Whatever was Osimhen's reactions against Finidi can not be greater than the corruption and ineptitude going on among NFF officials. Nigerians are deceived easily with attention diverted to an innocent young player who needs a more organized football association to excel. Osimhen is not our problem and the general attack on him is an ingratitude from the nation. Nigeria will suffer from this stupidity. No nation attacks their own assets in defense of their liabilities. Pele, Maradona, Ronaldo etc were protected during trouble times. Una go regret this one.
From day one, it was evident the Finidi experiment won't work. He lacks the experience and wherewithal to tinker a big team in the mould of the famous Super Eagles. Only the NFF could tell us why they gave Finidi the job when it was palpable he was the least qualified with no prior experience.
The deed has been done already, we are still on track to make the World Cup. My fear is: the NFF should not induce their usual hocus pocus in choosing another journey man. Only the best will suffice.
As for a coach who said he doesn't believe in formation, I guess he learnt nothing from his coaching course. Kudos to the ever controversial NFF for cleaning their mess in time(?)
You know it amazes me the angle we look at some of these things. With a football federal that has great structural support, Osimhen probably would not have made such an outburst. Finidi is a human being. Every human deserves support to gain experience. No one should made his or her mind so little to conclude that Finidi has no experience. Every head coach is as good as his technical team, other back room staff and the football federation. I don't want to mention our last foreign head coach so as not to deviate. Please go and look at his records and ask yourself why he was employed if you belong to the group who knows how to define experience. No one should hide ignorantly or subconsciously under skin color to look down on Finidi. Promote your own, give them all round support and you will see them compete as Nigerian citizens representing Nigeria globally. You can research what is going on with the referees in football and gather more facts on how we treat our own. Check out more sports if you have more time. You can also please expand your lenses to other sectors. Never isolate an issue from a holistic approach, especially in the Nigerian context.