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Finidi George's exit was written in stone before he put pen to paper for his resignation letter
Former Super Eagles of Nigeria manager Finidi George has opened up about his reasons for resigning from the job less than two months after being named head coach of the Super Eagles.
Finidi was rumoured to have sent in his resignation letter on Saturday morning, and it appears the rumours have been substantiated, with details of what is believed to be the former Enyimba coach’s resignation letter to the NFF.
Finidi struggles in Super Eagles role
Despite playing only two matches as the permanent Super Eagles boss, Finidi’s tenure was marked by serious struggles at the top as Nigeria faltered in crucial 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers leading to grave measures taken by the NFF.
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Nigeria drew at home against South Africa and lost to the Benin Republic in Finidi’s two games in charge, leaving the Super Eagles’ chances of reaching the 2026 World Cup, and the NFF responded to the setback by seeking out a foreign technical adviser to oversee the national team coach.
The repercussions of the Super Eagles’ disappointment also included a falling out between Finidi and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, who lambasted the coach in an Instagram live over rumours that he was being blamed for the poor performances in the World Cup qualifiers which he missed due to injury.
3 things that condemned Finidi George
Poor World Cup qualifiers results
Finidi’s first two games as Nigeria's manager in a temporary capacity ended in a win over Ghana and a loss to Mali, but still instilled enough confidence in the NFF to appoint the former Enyimba coach as permanent coach of the Super Eagles for more the more complex matches in 2026 World Cup qualifying.
However, the results from the two qualifiers Finidi played were dismal, virtually sealing his fate in the court of public opinion meaning his eventual sacking was only a matter of time.
Finidi took matters into his own hands by resigning, preventing a sacking that was likely on the horizon as the NFF appeared to lose faith in him.
Losing the dressing room
As evidenced by Osimhen’s long rant on his Instagram live, Finidi has likely lost the confidence of the major players in the Super Eagles’ dressing room, or the Napoli forward would have been better advised or at least worried about the long-term consequences of his actions.
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However, the courage shown by Osimhen in making the video only points further to the fact that the Napoli forward was not the only player in the Super Eagles who had lost respect for Finidi, meaning his time at the top was already under threat.
Without the support of the biggest names in the dressing room, it would have been impossible for Finidi to steer the Super Eagles ship and seeing the writing on the wall would have only driven Finidi closer to quitting.
NFF appointing a technical adviser
The final nail in the coffin for Finidi would have been the Nigeria manager seeing the NFF go behind his back to publicise their plan to hire a technical adviser to oversee the rest of his tenure as Super Eagles coach.
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In what is believed to be his resignation note, Finidi allegedly wrote, “This decision [to resign] is made in light of the recent changes to the team’s technical staff,” categorically pointing at the potential employment of a technical adviser as a reason for his decision to quit.
With Finidi likely feeling undermined by the decision, it makes sense that he would do what he could to maintain self-respect in the situation, condemning him to resign from his post.
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