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NFF Names German Labbadia as Super Eagles’ New Head Coach

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NFF
Bruno Labbadia

 

The Nigeria Football Federation has announced that it has agreed with German tactician,


NFF
Bruno Labbadia

 

The Nigeria Football Federation has announced that it has agreed with German tactician, Bruno Labbadia, to become the Head Coach of Nigeria’s Senior Men’s National Team, Super Eagles.

 

In the early hours of Tuesday, NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi said: “The NFF Executive Committee has approved the recommendation of its Technical and Development Sub-Committee to appoint Mr. Bruno Labbadia as the Head Coach of the Super Eagles. The appointment is with immediate effect.”

 

Born in Darmstadt, Germany on 8th February 1966, Labbadia, won two caps for the German national team in his playing career that took him through clubs such as home-town team Darmstadt 98, Hamburger SV, FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, FC Cologne, Werder Bremen, Armenia Bielefeld and Karlsruher SC. He triumphed in the German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich as a player in 1994.

 

He coached famous names Hertha Berlin and VfB Stuttgart this decade, and previously, VfL Wolfsburg, Hamburger SV, and Bayer Leverkusen, among others, and holds a UEFA Pro License.

 

He is only the sixth German, after Karl-Heinz Marotzke (who had two stints between 1970 and 1974), Gottlieb Göller (1981), Manfred Höner (1988-1989), Berti Vogts (2007-2008) and Gernot Rohr (2016-2021) to lead the Super Eagles.

Höner led the Eagles to the runner-up position at the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations, while Rohr qualified and led Nigeria to the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russia.

 

Labbadi’s immediate challenge is to take charge of the three-time African champions for two 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin Republic (Saturday 7th September in Uyo) and Rwanda (Tuesday, 10th September in Kigali), with four other matches to conclude the qualifying race following in October and November.

 

His appointment comes after the Super Eagles drew against familiar foes the Benin Republic in the qualification race for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

 

Placed in Group D, the Super Eagles face Benin Republic who defeated them recently in a 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

 

In the draw ceremony held in Johannesburg, South Africa last month, Nigeria will also play Libya and Rwanda –  who are also part of the Super Eagles’ lot for the race to the World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico in two years.

 

The qualifiers for the 2025 AFCON will begin in September and end in November 2025. But the competition will be held between December 21 2025 and January 18, 2026.

Caged Eagles

Nigeria’s AFCON 2025 qualifiers offer a redemption chance for the Super Eagles who have suffered misfortunes since finishing as runners-up in the last edition of the competition earlier in the year.

 

The Super Eagles only managed three points from four games in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, the latest being a disappointing loss to the Cheetahs of Benin Republic.

 

That defeat triggered a barrage of criticisms from fans who wondered what could be wrong with a team parading Africa’s best player Victor Osimhen (he did not play against Benin) and a host of other stars.

 

Calls for George Finidi’s sack as the head coach of the team reached new highs in the wake of the defeat. Days after, the former international resigned from the post about two months after he was appointed.

 

, to become the Head Coach of Nigeria’s Senior Men’s National Team, Super Eagles.

 

In the early hours of Tuesday, NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi said: “The NFF Executive Committee has approved the recommendation of its Technical and Development Sub-Committee to appoint Mr. Bruno Labbadia as the Head Coach of the Super Eagles. The appointment is with immediate effect.”

 

Born in Darmstadt, Germany on 8th February 1966, Labbadia, won two caps for the German national team in his playing career that took him through clubs such as home-town team Darmstadt 98, Hamburger SV, FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, FC Cologne, Werder Bremen, Armenia Bielefeld and Karlsruher SC. He triumphed in the German Bundesliga with Bayern Munich as a player in 1994.

 

He coached famous names Hertha Berlin and VfB Stuttgart this decade, and previously, VfL Wolfsburg, Hamburger SV, and Bayer Leverkusen, among others, and holds a UEFA Pro License.

 

He is only the sixth German, after Karl-Heinz Marotzke (who had two stints between 1970 and 1974), Gottlieb Göller (1981), Manfred Höner (1988-1989), Berti Vogts (2007-2008) and Gernot Rohr (2016-2021) to lead the Super Eagles.

 

Höner led the Eagles to the runner-up position at the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations, while Rohr qualified and led Nigeria to the 2018 FIFA World Cup finals in Russia.

 

Labbadi’s immediate challenge is to take charge of the three-time African champions for two 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches against Benin Republic (Saturday 7th September in Uyo) and Rwanda (Tuesday, 10th September in Kigali), with four other matches to conclude the qualifying race following in October and November.

 

His appointment comes after the Super Eagles drew against familiar foes the Benin Republic in the qualification race for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

 

Placed in Group D, the Super Eagles face Benin Republic who defeated them recently in a 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

 

In the draw ceremony held in Johannesburg, South Africa last month, Nigeria will also play Libya and Rwanda –  who are also part of the Super Eagles’ lot for the race to the World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico in two years.

 

The qualifiers for the 2025 AFCON will begin in September and end in November 2025. But the competition will be held between December 21 2025 and January 18, 2026.

Caged Eagles

Nigeria’s AFCON 2025 qualifiers offer a redemption chance for the Super Eagles who have suffered misfortunes since finishing as runners-up in the last edition of the competition earlier in the year.

 

The Super Eagles only managed three points from four games in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, the latest being a disappointing loss to the Cheetahs of Benin Republic.

 

That defeat triggered a barrage of criticisms from fans who wondered what could be wrong with a team parading Africa’s best player Victor Osimhen (he did not play against Benin) and a host of other stars.

 

Calls for George Finidi’s sack as the head coach of the team reached new highs in the wake of the defeat. Days after, the former international resigned from the post about two months after he was appointed.

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Transfer: Real Madrid , Cucurella Reach Verbal Agreement 

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Chelsea reliable defender, Marc Cucurella may join Spanish giant, Real Madrid before the end of the current transfer window.if information from transfer journalist, Fabrizio Romano are anything to go by.

 

Romano In a latest transfer update, said Real Madrid has reached verbal agreement to sign Marc Cucurella from Chelsea.

“Verbal agreement in place between all parties, player too — he’s the left back wanted by Mourinho” the update read.

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Hakimi, Vinicius Barred From Speaking Spanish At World Cup

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FIFA has come under scrutiny after several high-profile players, including Achraf Hakimi and Vinicius Junior, were discouraged from speaking Spanish during media engagements at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States.

 

The issue first surfaced ahead of Morocco’s Group C clash with Brazil when a Spanish-speaking journalist attempted to question Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi in Spanish.

Despite Hakimi, who grew up in Madrid and speaks the language fluently, indicating he was comfortable answering in Spanish, event officials reportedly insisted that questions be asked in English.

Hakimi attempted to reassure organizers that language would not be a barrier, but officials maintained that no Spanish translator was available for the session. A compromise was eventually reached, with the reporter asking the question in Spanish while Hakimi responded in English.

The controversy intensified during Brazil’s media session when Vinicius Junior was also interrupted while responding to a question in Spanish.

The Real Madrid forward, who is more comfortable speaking Portuguese or Spanish than English, was reportedly asked by organizers to switch languages.

Rather than continue in Spanish, Vinicius opted to answer in Portuguese before turning his attention back to Brazil’s World Cup preparations.

The incidents sparked widespread debate among journalists and fans, many of whom questioned why Spanish—a language spoken by millions across North America—was effectively restricted at a tournament being hosted largely in the United States.

According to Spanish media outlet El País, FIFA only provides Spanish-language translation services at World Cup press conferences involving Spanish-speaking nations such as Spain, Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador, and Paraguay.

For all other teams, questions and answers are expected to be conducted either in English or the official language of the participating country.

The policy has generated criticism online, with many supporters arguing that multilingual communication should be encouraged at a global event like the World Cup.

The backlash was particularly strong in Vinicius’ case, as the Brazilian forward appeared visibly uncomfortable being asked to communicate in English.

The controversy overshadowed what was otherwise a highly anticipated encounter between Brazil and Morocco, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

With the issue now drawing international attention, FIFA may face increasing calls to review its media language guidelines as the tournament progresses.

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It’s Illegal’…Falana’s Bombshell Indicts Govs, FG.

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Human rights advocate, Femi Falana, has warned federal and state governments against negotiating with and rewarding terrorists.

 

According to Falana, the practice is illegal.

He stated this while delivering the keynote address at the Amnesty International Second Annual General Meeting in Abuja on June 13, 2026.

Falana claimed it is public knowledge officials of the Federal Government and some State Governments have been holding meetings and negotiating with terrorists and bandits, which has led to thousands of ‘repentant’ criminals being forgiven and given cash gifts of undisclosed sums of money.

Asserting that the “satanic Boko Haram sect and similar bodies have been proscribed” under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, Falana insisted that “their members and allies shall be prosecuted and not pampered and forgiven by the Nigerian State.”

Highlighting the legal consequences, he quoted Section 22 of the Act, stating: “A person who knowingly—(a) arranges, manages, assists in arranging or managing, participates in a meeting or an activity, which in his knowledge is concerned or connected with an act of terrorism or terrorist group, (b) collects, or provides logistics, equipment, information, articles or facilities for a meeting or an activity, which in his knowledge is concerned or connected with an act of terrorism or terrorist group, or (c) attends a meeting, which in his knowledge is to support a proscribed entity or to further the objectives of a proscribed entity, commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of at least 20 years.”

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