The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) announced on Friday that it has rescinded the appointment of Bruno Labbadia as head coach after contract negotiations fell through.
While the NFF had introduced Labbadia as the new coach of the Super Eagles earlier in the week, this agreement has now been deemed untenable. NFF president Ibrahim Gusau cited “stringent” tax laws in Germany as the reason for the change.
Gusau explained, “We have been discussing the tax issue for the past three days, and I made it clear that the NFF cannot cover the significant tax percentage on his salary that the German tax authorities would demand.”
He added, “It is unfeasible for us to pay an additional 32% to 40% of his salary on top of the agreed monthly wage.”
Although the NFF and Labbadia had reached an agreement in principle before the announcement, the tax implications were not part of the initial discussions. Gusau noted that Labbadia had accepted all other terms before this issue emerged and emphasized the NFF’s inability to bear the full tax burden, which Labbadia insisted they do.
As a result, NFF technical director Augustine Eguavoen will lead Nigeria in the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin on September 7 and Rwanda on September 10. This marks Eguavoen’s fourth tenure as head of the three-time African champions, having previously held the position from 2005 to 2007, in 2010, and from 2021 to 2022.