Fourth stint as Super Eagles coach: Fifa Council member Pinnick insists Eguavoen has no godfather

Former Nigeria Football Federation president Amaju Pinnick has insisted that Augustine Eguavoen does not have a godfather following the former defender's return to the Super Eagles on an interim basis.

Last month, the Nigerian Federation put the cart before the horse by announcing that Bruno Labbadia would be the new boss of the three-time African champions and would be in the dugout for the  2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin and Rwanda.

Despite submitting his passport data page to the Nigerian Federation to process a visa on arrival, the deal eventually fell through few days before the Super Eagles were due to start preparations for the internationals in September.

If Labbadia had agreed to the contract under his conditions, the Nigerian Federation would have been responsible for covering the tax on his salary, which they were unwilling to agree to.

The Nigerian Federation were left with no option but to name Eguavoen as the interim coach of the Super Eagles for the Afcon qualifiers.

The 1994 Africa Cup of Nations winner returned for a fourth spell in charge of the Super Eagles, having previously led the team in 2005-2007, 2010 and 2022.

When questioned about Eguavoen having a godfather, Fifa Council member Pinnick told Arise News: "Eguavoen is absolutely nothing, not like that. If you remember the Shuaibu Amodu time, as a technical director, even in major teams in global football, a technical director takes charge when there is a vacuum in the coaching crew.

"That's what happened. Eguavoen is still the technical director of the Nigerian Federation. If it was someone else, that person would have taken charge.

"I believe that it's more about the players not even the coach. The players should look at that green-white-green flag, should look at that emblem and say I want to die for Nigeria."

In his first match back as coach of the senior national team, Eguavoen led the Super Eagles to a commanding 3-0 victory over Benin's Cheetahs at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium on Saturday, marking their biggest win since September 2023.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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