Nigeria’s National Football Teams to be Led by Interim Coaches Through 2024
Nigeria’s senior national football teams, the Super Eagles and Super Falcons, will be led by interim coaches Austin Eguavoen and Justin Madugu, respectively, through the end of 2024. Eguavoen will continue to coach the Super Eagles, at least through the next round of qualifiers for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, while Madugu will take temporary charge of the Super Falcons following the departure of Randy Waldrum last month.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) announced their decision, stating that both coaches will serve in interim capacities while they continue their search for substantive head coaches. However, high-level sources within the federation revealed that unless the team suffers catastrophic results during the qualifiers, the search for a new coach for the Super Eagles is likely on hold for now, due to the NFF’s limited funds.
Eguavoen, who was drafted in to steady the ship after the departure of Jose Peseiro earlier this year, has done well in the two AFCON qualifying matches he took charge of last month. His past successes and the federation’s financial constraints have made him the preferred choice for now.
“Eguavoen is capable of doing the job,” an NFF official said. “Right now, there are no funds to pay a foreign coach, and he has done so well in the matches he played that nobody is even talking about a foreign coach again.”
Madugu, who previously took charge of the Super Falcons during contract renegotiations with Waldrum, will lead the team until a new coach is appointed. With no competitive engagements until the Africa Women Cup of Nations next year, the NFF is not inclined to appoint a new coach before the second quarter of 2025.
In addition to his responsibilities as coach of the Super Eagles, Eguavoen has also been tasked with taking charge of the B team for next year’s Africa Nations Championship (CHAN). Despite this added responsibility, sources within the NFF claim that Eguavoen is not receiving any extra pay, and that his wages as Technical Director were actually slashed this summer as part of the federation’s cost-cutting measures.
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