The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has announced the collapse of its deal with German coach Bruno Labbadia, who was set to become the new head coach of the Super Eagles.
The decision was confirmed in a statement issued by NFF’s Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire, on Friday, hours after it was reported that an agreement has been reached between the NFF and Labbadia.
NFF President, Musa Gusau, explained that the deal was aborted due to complications arising from stringent tax regulations imposed by German authorities.
He stated that while an agreement in principle had been reached with Labbadia, the issue of tax obligations became a stumbling block.
“We have been on the tax issue for the past three days,” Gusau said. “I told him clearly that there was no way the NFF will agree to offset the tax percentage on his salary, which German authorities require.
“It is not possible for us to shoulder that responsibility of shelling out another money, between 32 per cent to 40 per cent of his salary, after paying the agreed monthly wage.”
He continued, “The NFF and 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.”
Gusau added that despite efforts to negotiate, Labbadia insisted that the NFF cover the full tax amount, which led to the breakdown of the agreement.
In light of this development, Technical Director of the NFF, Coach Augustine Eguavoen, has been appointd to take charge of the Super Eagles.
Eguavoen will lead the team in the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin Republic in Uyo on 7 September, and Rwanda in Kigali on 10 September.
This will be Eguavoen’s fourth stint as head coach of the Super Eagles, following his previous tenures from 2005 to 2007, 2010, and 2022.
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