The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has named Bruno Labbadia as the new head coach of the Super Eagles.
News About Nigeria reports that the NFF announced on Tuesday morning that it has finalized an agreement with the German coach.
NFF General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi stated: “The NFF Executive Committee has endorsed the recommendation of its Technical and Development Sub-Committee to appoint Mr. Bruno Labbadia as the Head Coach of the Super Eagles. The appointment takes effect immediately.”
Labbadia replaces Finidi George, who resigned in June, shortly after the NFF announced plans to hire a foreign technical advisor for the Super Eagles.
George, the former Enyimba FC manager, was appointed in April 2024 and only managed two competitive games as the Eagles coach.
Similarly, Labbadia is a former player turned coach, having played for several German clubs, including FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, and Werder Bremen.
During his playing career, Labbadia won the German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich in 1994.
After retiring, he transitioned to coaching, managing various German clubs, including Darmstadt, Greuther Fürth, and Wolfsburg.
His most recent coaching position was at Stuttgart, where he was dismissed in April 2023 after the team fell to last place in the Bundesliga.
Labbadia becomes the sixth German coach to lead the Super Eagles, following in the footsteps of Karl-Heinz Marotzke, Gottlieb Göller, Manfred Höner, Berti Vogts, and Gernot Rohr.
Labbadia’s first challenge is to lead the Eagles in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying matches, starting with a home game against Benin Republic on September 7 in Uyo.
The team will then travel to Rwanda three days later, followed by four additional matches in October and November to conclude the qualifying round.
Benin Republic is managed by Gernot Rohr, a former Eagles coach, who led the team to a 2-1 victory over Nigeria in the last round of the 2026 World Cup qualification.
The Eagles face an uphill battle to qualify for the next World Cup, currently sitting fifth in Group C with no wins in four games.
Labbadia must now turn the team’s fortunes around and secure automatic World Cup qualification by leading them to the top of the group.
