The Super Eagles welcome Austin Eguavoen as their new caretaker coach, appointed by the NFF to guide the team through upcoming matches.
The agreement between the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and Bruno Labbadia, the newly appointed coach of Super Eagles, has been cancelled.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Tuesday, the NFF made an announcement stating their agreement with German coach Labbadia as the new Head Coach for Super Eagles.
On Friday, Ademola Olajire, Director of Communications for NFF released a statement quoting Musa Gusau (NFF President) who stated that the agreement between Labbadia and NFF had failed.
Gusau clarified that the strict regulations set forth by German tax authorities had obstructed the deal between the NFF and Coach Labbadia.
Read Also:NFF Explains Collapse of Labbadia Deal, Names Interim Coach
The tax issue has been our focus for the previous three days.
I made it crystal clear to him that the NFF would never consent to paying for the corresponding tax percentage on his salary, which is required by German tax authorities.
After paying the agreed monthly wage, it’s simply not feasible for us to bear the burden of allocating an additional 32% to 40% of his salary.
Before announcing that Labbadia would become the Head Coach of the Super Eagles, an agreement in principle had been reached between NFF and him.
He had agreed to all terms before the tax issue arose, and our discussions did not include any details regarding taxes.
Gusau expressed that despite our efforts to remain adaptable during the negotiations, he insisted on NFF paying the entire tax sum. Unfortunately, this is something we cannot accommodate.
In light of the recent development, it was announced that Coach Augustine Eguavoen, the Technical Director of Nigeria Football Federation, will assume leadership responsibilities for the Super Eagles.
The responsibility of leading the team for the forthcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin Republic in Uyo on September 7th and Kigali, Rwanda on September 10th has been bestowed upon Eguavoen.
Eguavoen is set to embark on his fourth spell at the helm of the three-time African champions, as reported by NAN. He previously held this position in 2005-2007, 2010 and now again in 2022.
