Augustine Eguavoen denies lobbying for Super Eagles head coach position

Stand-in Super Eagles coach, Augustine Owen Eguavoen, has come out to denounce the news claiming he made lobbying efforts to secure his  appointment as the interim head coach of the Nigerian football team, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Nigerian Football Federation announced Bruno Labbadia as the official coach of the Super Eagles a few days back, but the move couldn’t be finalized due to difference over the tax modes and percentage of the former VfL Wolfsburg manager.

Following this move, the NFF appointed Eguavoen as an interim fix for the Super Eagles. The former Nigeria international will oversee the AFCON 2025 qualifying games against Rwanda and the Republic of Benin, to be assisted by Fidelis Ilechukwu and Daniel Ogunmodede, the head coaches of Rangers and Remo Stars respectively.

The appointment marks Eguavoen’s third spell with the three-time AFCON winners, and following reports that he lobbied to get the role, the coach debunked the news.

“When a situation like this arises and you are called upon, you can’t refuse. It is a task I have performed before and falls within my responsibilities. The Federation’s leadership believes I can help, so I accepted. But let it be known: I did not ask for this; I did not lobby for this; I did not apply for this. It is God’s favour,” the coach said in quotes revealed by Brila.

Nigeria will play against Benin Republic on Saturday, 7th September, before jetting out to play against Rwanda three days after.