On Friday, Nigerian football authorities declared the commencement of the application process for the position of the national head coach, seeking a successor for José Peseiro ahead of crucial World Cup qualifiers. Peseiro resigned after guiding the team to the Africa Cup of Nations final last month, where they suffered a 2-1 defeat to hosts Ivory Coast.

The 63-year-old Portuguese coach achieved the goal of reaching the semi-finals but chose to depart when negotiations, primarily focused on salary, reached an impasse.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has set the deadline for receiving applications for the national head coach position as March 12. Emmanuel Amuneke, former Tanzania coach and an assistant to Samson Siasia and Augustine Eguavoen, is a prominent name linked with the role. The selected coach will guide the team through crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers in June, facing South Africa at home and Benin away. Nigeria currently holds the third position in their World Cup qualifying group, with Rwanda leading and South Africa in second place. The group winner secures automatic qualification for the World Cup in the United States.