Super Eagles Left Coachless After AFCON 2023

In the aftermath of the 34th Africa Cup of Nations title match in Abidjan on Sunday night, the Super Eagles find themselves without a coach. The interim contract with Portuguese manager Jose Peseiro, specifically extended for AFCON 2023, has officially lapsed.

Originally signed in June of the previous year, Peseiro’s contract had to be prolonged to cover the duration of the Africa Cup of Nations. The six-month extension was contingent on Nigeria reaching the semi-finals, a condition fulfilled when the Super Eagles defeated Angola in the quarter-finals.

Looking ahead, Nigeria’s next challenge is the qualification for the 2025 AFCON, with preliminaries set to commence next month. Despite the conclusion of Cote d’Ivoire 2023, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has yet to release fixtures for the upcoming edition’s qualifying series, marking a departure from past traditions.

The timeline for the preliminary round and subsequent matchdays is already in place:

Preliminary round: 18–26 March 2024

First and second matchdays: 2–10 September 2024

Third and fourth matchdays: 7–15 October 2024

Fifth and sixth matchdays: 11–19 November 2024

Additionally, the Super Eagles have two matchdays for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, hosting Bafana Bafana on 2 June and traveling to Benin Republic for another qualifier on 9 June.

Despite the upcoming challenges, the opponents for the 2025 AFCON preliminaries remain unknown as CAF has broken with tradition by not announcing the fixtures immediately after the conclusion of Cote d’Ivoire 2023. The next international window, from March 18 to 26, allows teams to play two matches, with the June window already dedicated to World Cup qualification.