The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has shifted its focus to Technical Director Augustine Eguavoen to lead the Super Eagles, following Coach Bruno Labbadia’s decision to turn down the role as Head Coach of Nigeria’s Senior Men’s Team, as reported by BSNSports.com.ng.
This change comes after complications related to stringent German tax regulations, which the NFF could not accommodate.
The NFF reported that the tax implications were a significant barrier to finalizing the agreement with Labbadia.
Ibrahim Musa Gusau, President of the NFF, explained on Friday evening: “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.”
Gusau noted that, although an agreement in principle was reached before Labbadia’s appointment was announced, the tax details were not part of the initial discussions. Labbadia had accepted all terms before the tax issue emerged.
“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,” Gusau said.
With Labbadia stepping down, Eguavoen will now take charge of the Super Eagles for the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin Republic in Uyo on September 7 and against Rwanda in Kigali on September 10.
This will be Eguavoen’s fourth stint as head coach of the Super Eagles, having previously led the team in 2005-2007, 2010, and 2022.
