Controversy greets appointment of Labbadia as new Super Eagles coach

The decision to appoint the German Bruno Labbadia as the new coach of the Super Eagles was not unanimous as several NFF senior officials said it was forced on them.

They alleged that it was a unilateral decision taken by the NFF president Ibrahim Gusau and the sports minister John Enoh as against the claim in an NFF official statement that both the technical committee and executive board endorsed Labbadia’s appointment.

In the closing stages of the selection process for a new coach for the Super Eagles, both members of the NFF technical committee as well as NFF board had complained they were not carried along.

Monday’s NFF board meeting during which the president announced the appointment of the new coach was therefore short and did not allow for any discussions.

“This was just a two-man show,” one of the senior officials simply told SCORENigeria

“We did not know what was happening.”

Officials said it is most likely that the sports minister finalised Labbadia’s appointment on his most recent visit to Germany, where he met with the country’s athletes for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, France.

Officials pointed out that new coach has never worked in Africa and lacks vast knowledge of African football, which is one of the prerequisites listed by the NFF for this appointment.

Today’s official statement by the NFF also did not contain the details of the contract of the new coach, like duration and salary.