NFF accuses Finidi of breach of contract after signing for Rivers United, but has yet to accept his resignation

A senior official of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has accused former team coach Finidi George of breaching his contract following his appointment as the new coach of Nigeria Professional Football League side Rivers United. Own goal Nigeria.com reports.

Finidi left his post as coach of the Nigerian senior national team after a disappointing performance in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, where they drew 1-1 with South Africa and lost 1-2 to Benin Republic. The result saw them drop to fifth place in the six-team group.

In a statement, the NFF said it would hire an expatriate coach to manage the team for the remaining qualifying matches, but made no mention of Finidi’s future and two days later the coach announced he had tendered his resignation.

NFF president Ibrahim Musa Gusau said he is not aware of any resignation letter from the team’s former talisman. Another board member echoed the same sentiment on the coach’s alleged resignation.

“He (Finidi) breached his contract by accepting the job at Rivers United. The NFF I belong to has not yet officially accepted his resignation. You can ask him if we have responded to him. That means he is still our employee, which means he cannot go elsewhere until we sign terms with him officially,” he said. Own goal Nigeria.com.

“It’s a simple practice: when you resign, your employers must respond to your resignation before you accept another job. So you are the judge to determine whether what you did was professional or not.”

Mohamed Mowiz Suleiman