Finidi George was recently handed a two year contract to coach the Super Eagles into qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The newly appointed head coach stated in an interview on Arise News that his contract with the Nigerian national team is a two year contract which is strictly performance based;
“It is not a one-year deal and it is based on how well you perform because I think, even if you have given me a five-year deal, and I don’t perform, I will leave before those five years.
“For me, it is all about adding value, winning games and making the team play good football. So, I am not quite worried about the length of the contract but I think the contract is a two-year deal based on performance”.
But how did the NFF arrive at such a performance based contract?
First let’s take a look at why the NFF chose Finidi George as the head coach for the Super Eagles.
Former NFF 1st Vice President, Seyi Akinwunmi disclosed the reason the leadership of football administration in the country appointed Finidi George as Super Eagles Head Coach on a podcast hosted by HotSports.
The former Lagos FA Chairman said the foreign exchange and the economy necessitated the appointment of the former Nigeria international.
“From what I see, if we are to go for a foreign coach, we have to go for a high level coach and maybe we cannot afford it. The foreign exchange market is crazy. We needed to balance football and the economy. I think that’s what they have done. I don’t have an issue with the appointment”.
Speaking on the Monday Night Football show on Super Sports, Victor Ikpeba, who was among the technical committee that recommended Finidi, stated that the NFF settled for him because of financial constraints.
So, if you look at the best coaches in the world no Nigerian fits into that list. Nigeria cannot afford the best coaches in the world right now hence the technical committee of NFF had to look inward to pick an indigenous coach that won’t cost as much as hiring a foreign coach. Hence a performance based contract seemed logical. As with every other performance based contracts, there are targets to be met for optimal performance.
According to the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau; “the first target is to qualify the team for next year’s Nations Cup and to get to at least the semifinals of the Nations Cup, as well as qualify the team to the World Cup and to get us the target of playing in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
“So these are the main targets we put in place for him in the contract, and by the grace of God, we are working hard to see how we can achieve that,” he added.
Does this mean if Finidi cannot meet up with the targets given, he can be shown the way out, Finidi seem to understand this, a fact he mentioned on the Arise News interview; “ it is based on how well you perform because I think, even if you have given me a five-year deal, and I don’t perform, I will leave before those five years.
Speaking on why indigenous coaches contracts are not made plain to the general public as with other countries like Europe, Spain, Germany etc. Sunday Edeh a sports journalist with People’s FM in Abuja noted that when contracts are signed, it is always shrouded in secrecy; “it is those foreign coaches we hire that wants their contract to be stated in black and white, they are paid in hard currency. Our coaches cannot be paid the equivalent.
Speaking further Edeh said “Finidi didn’t state how much they pay him, as a professional in the game who played the game at the highest level, he should at least be able to state how much he is being paid.
He revealed that “as soon as the relationship goes sour, the truth will come to light as always but then it will be too late, same formula each time”.
Sunday Edeh noted that change will only come when we start having proper football administrators not politicians, proper football administrators will ensure contracts are clearly stated just like it is done in Europe and other climes, salaries are clearly stated and can be verified anywhere. Proper football administrators understand that football is business, they go all out to market and get sponsors, then they clearly state how much these sponsors are bringing in and how much is being expended on the team. You do not play politics with football administration, that’s the driving force.
Assistant coaches will be paid based on appearance, when they come for matches. Bonuses due to the Super Eagles will be paid to the assistant coaches as well.
George Finidi has named a 23-man squad for his first set of competitive games against Benin Republic and South Africa in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, which are scheduled for June, we are optimistic the coach’s performance will be one to celebrate.
