“Qualify Nigeria for 2026 World Cup”: NFF President Instructs Finidi George

• Finidi George has been mandated to see Nigeria qualify for the 2026 World Cup
• The 53-year-old astute tactician was named Super Eagles coach on April 29
• Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2022 edition after losing the ticket to Ghana

President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Gusau, has stated that Super Eagles head coach Finidi George is in charge of qualifying the team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

After missing out on the 2022 edition in Qatar, Nigeria are desperate to return to the biggest football competition on the globe and has appointed the former Real Betis star to oversee the qualifying phase.

According to Complete Sports, Gusau has confirmed qualifying for the World Cup and the Africa Cup of Nations was the mandate given to Finidi before the approval of his appointment as coach.

Rangers coach Ilechukwu backs Finidi to succeed as Super Eagles coach

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“The key thing is, in every contract there must be some indices and some targets that you must put in place for somebody in order for him to get optimal performance.

“The first target is to qualify the team for next year’s Nations Cup and to get to at least the semi-finals of the Nations Cup, as well as qualify the team to the World Cup and to get us the target of playing in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.”

Nigeria will hope to revive their bid to qualify for the 2026 World Cup when they host South Africa at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo on June 7 before traveling to Ivory Coast to take on Benin a few days later.

NFF bars Finidi from press

Meanwhile, the NFF has reportedly instructed Finidi not to engage in any interaction with the media without express approval from the football body per Own Goal Nigeria.

Finidi George Optimistic About Nigeria’s Chances of Reaching 2026 World Cup

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The 53-year-old manager was allegedly stopped from speaking in a Twitter space by the NFF as it was claimed he did not apply for a clearance from the body for a private media session.

It was claimed Finidi would be breaching the agreements of his contract with the NFF after his appointment as Super Eagles coach was made official and public.

NFF unveils Finidi’s contract details

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Finidi has signed a two-year contract to become the new Super Eagles coach as the NFF has confirmed during his unveiling.

The 53-year-old was unveiled to the media on Monday, May 13, inside the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Press Conference Room in Abuja.