The Nigeria Football Federation has confirmed that ex-international, Austin Eguavoen, will handle the Super Eagles in their 2025 AFCON qualifiers against the Benin Republic and Rwanda in September.
INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that NFF’s decision is coming, following its inability to secure the services of German coach Bruno Labbadia.
LabBadia, who was previously named as the successor to Finidi George earlier this week, reportedly declined the position due to unresolved issues with German tax laws.
In a statement released to the public, signed by the federation’s President, Ibrahim Gusau, on Friday, disclosed that these tax concerns were the main obstacle to finalizing the agreement.
The statement read: “We have been on the tax issue for the past three days, and I told him clearly that there was no way the NFF will agree to offset the concomitant tax percentage on his salary that will be demanded by German tax authorities.
“It is not possible for us to shoulder the responsibility of shelling out another money, between 32% to 40% of his salary, after paying the agreed monthly wage.
READ MORE: NFF Appoints Labbadia As Super Eagles Coach
“The NFF and Mr. Labbadia reached an agreement in principle before we made the announcement that he would become the Head Coach of the Super Eagles.
“The tax details were never part of our discussions, and he had personally agreed to all terms before the tax issue came up.
“We were doing our best to be flexible in the discussions but he was adamant that the NFF had to pay the full tax amount as well. We simply cannot do that.”
“In the event, Technical Director of Nigeria Football Federation, Coach Augustine Eguavoen, will now take charge of the Super Eagles for the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin Republic (Uyo, September 7) and Rwanda (Kigali, September 10).”
