After extensive contract negotiations, the Nigeria Football Federation announced on Sunday that they had reached an agreement with Jose Peseiro to extend his position as the head coach of the national senior men’s team.
The NFF made public the selection of Peseiro as the Super Eagles’ new coach on May 15, 2022, taking over from Austin Eguavoen, who resumed his position as the federation’s Technical Director.
The Portuguese coach, who earned $70,000 per month, saw his one-year contract expire in June.
There was speculation that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Super Eagles had not made any progress in their contract negotiations with Jose Peseiro, leading to rumors that the 63-year-old coach might resign.
Under the leadership of the Portuguese coach, the Super Eagles have not been performing to expectations. They have won only four of their nine games under his watch, losing five. The team has scored 18 goals and conceded 13.
The Super Eagles’ worst run in 42 years occurred under Peseiro’s leadership. They lost three consecutive games, including a stunning 1-0 loss to minnows Guinea-Bissau, who are ranked 118th in the world, in a 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Abuja last March.
There are concerns about who will lead the Eagles when they face São Tomé and Príncipe in their final 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match on Sunday, September 10.
Those concerns have however been put to bed after the country’s football governing body in a statement on Sunday made a statement that Peseiro had extended his contract until next year.
The statement says, “The Nigeria Football Federation and Mr. Jose Santos Peseiro have reached an agreement for the latter to continue in his role as head coach of the senior men’s national team of Nigeria, Super Eagles.”
“As stipulated in the original contract, drawn in May 2022, the Portuguese has been handed the mandate to lead the Super Eagles to, at the minimum, the semi-finals of the 34th Africa Cup of Nations finals in Ivory Coast in a few months.”
“He has now agreed to continue in the role after accepting a pay cut on his earlier terms, with the new agreement also putting him in charge of the Super Eagles B – the home-based professionals who contest the biennial African Nations Championship.”
A separate statement from the sports ministry says that it took the intervention of the minister to bring an end to the Peseiro contract issue.
“Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh held a meeting with the leadership of the Nigerian Football Federation, on Saturday night to find solutions to the lingering issues surrounding the status of the contract with the Super Eagles Coach ahead of the last African Cup of Nations qualifying match.
“The minister’s team which included his Permanent Secretary and some Directors and that of the NFF led by the President, had very fruitful discussions.”
“Importantly the meeting agreed to extend the expired contract with the Super Eagles Coach to the end of February, 2024. The meeting was also briefed that the coach had agreed to a salary cut for the duration of the extended contract.”