The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has officially appointed German coach Bruno Labbadia as the new head coach of the Super Eagles, Nigeria’s senior men’s national football team. This announcement was made on Tuesday morning through a tweet on the NFF’s X (formerly Twitter) handle.
The statement from the NFF read: “The Nigeria Football Federation has announced that it has reached an agreement with German tactician, Bruno Labbadia, to become the Head Coach of Nigeria’s senior men’s national team, Super Eagles.” The decision to bring Labbadia on board was approved by the NFF Executive Committee, following the recommendation of its Technical and Development sub-committee, as confirmed by the NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi.
Bruno Labbadia now becomes the 37th coach in the history of the Super Eagles, succeeding Finidi George, who stepped down from the role. George had taken charge in May 2024 but struggled to deliver the expected results, leaving the team in a precarious position in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Under George’s leadership, the Super Eagles drew 1-1 with South Africa and suffered a surprising 2-1 defeat to Benin Republic, which left them in fifth place in Group C with just three points.
Labbadia’s appointment comes at a critical time, as the three-time African champions are looking to revive their World Cup qualification campaign. The team’s next challenge is the African Cup of Nations qualifiers, where they will face Benin Republic on September 7, followed by a match against Rwanda three days later.
Labbadia, who was born on February 8, 1966, has an extensive coaching career in Germany, having managed several top-tier clubs including VfB Stuttgart, Bayer Leverkusen, and Darmstadt 98. His experience and tactical acumen will be crucial as he takes on the responsibility of guiding the Super Eagles towards success on both the continental and global stages.
