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Cash-strapped Nigeria to stick with interim coaches

 Nigeria’s two senior national foot­ball teams, the Super Eagles and Super Falcons, will be led by interim coaches, Austin Eguavoen and Justin Madugu, through the end of 2024, at the very least.

Eguavoen will continue as coach of Nigeria’s Super Eagles, at least through the next round of qualifiers for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, according to the NFF, while Madugu will step in to take temporary charge of the Super Falcons following the departure of Randy Waldrum last month.

• Justin Madugu
• Justin Madugu

The NFF say both will be in interim capacities while they con­tinue their supposed search for substantive head coaches.

The decision was announced last week Thursday.

But high level sources within the federation told ESPN that unless the team suffered some catastrophic results during the qualifiers, the search for a new coach for the Super Eagles is all but on ice for now, as the NFF do not have the funds to pay for a new coach.

Following the departure of Jose Peseiro earlier this year, the NFF have been in the market for a new, preferably foreign, coach. That search lingered, and with time running out before the start of World Cup qualifying, former international, Finidi George, was handed the job.

But two matches later, he was out, after poor results in the World Cup qualifiers and a highly-publicised spat with star striker, Victor Osimhen.

Drafted in to steady the ship, Eguavoen did just that in the two games of AFCON qualifying he took charge of last month. Those results, his past successes and the federation’s lean purse all but made the decision.

“Eguavoen is capable of doing the job,” the NFF official told ESPN. “Right now, there are no funds to pay a foreign coach, and he has done so well in the matches he played that nobody is even talking about a foreign coach again.

Meanwhile, Nigeria on Satur­day left injured Galatasaray strik­er, Victor Osimhen, out of their squad for two Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Libya.

Injured South Africa-based defender, Olisa Ndah, was also left out of the squad selected by caretaker coach, Augustine Eguavoen.

The Super Eagles face Libya in the southern Nigerian town on Friday, October 11, before the teams meet again four days later in North Africa.

Nigeria top Group D with four points from two matches, while Libya are bottom with a point.

–ESPN

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