Just days after agreeing to become Super Eagles’ head Labbadia has reportedly turned down the Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) offer due to unresolved tax disputes.
The NFF had announced Labbadia’s appointment on August after reaching and agreement with him. However, the agreement fell apart over remittance of taxes between the NFF and German tax authorities.
Augustine Eguavoen has now been appointed as interim head coach for the Super Eagles’ 2025 AFCON qualifying matches against Benin Republic and Rwanda on September 7 and 10
The German manager was set to lead the Super Eagles in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) double-header qualifiers against Benin Republic and Rwanda next month.
“We have been on the tax issue for the past three days, and I told him clearly that there was no way the NFF would agree to offset the concomitant tax percentage on his salary that will be demanded by German tax authorities,’ NFF President Ibrahim Gusau said in statement.
“It is not possible for us to shoulder the responsibility of shelling out another sum, between 32% to 40% of his salary, after paying the agreed monthly wage.”
Gusau further explained, “The NFF and Labbadia reached an agreement in principle before we announced 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.”
This latest appointment will mark Eguavoen’s fourth stint as Super Eagle’s head coach, following his previous tenures in 2005-2007, 2010, and 2022.
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.