Jose Peseiro: Nigeria head coach departs as contract ends
- Published
Jose Peseiro led Nigeria to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations last month where they lost 2-1 to hosts Ivory Coast
Nigeria head coach Jose Peseiro says it has been "a privilege" to be part of the Super Eagles "family" after announcing his departure at the end of his contract.
There had been heavy speculation over the future of the Portuguese after he exceeded expectations by leading his side to last month's Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) final, where they lost to hosts Ivory Coast.
Writing on X,, external he said "It was a pride and honour to coach the Super Eagles. It has been 22 months of immense dedication, sacrifice, emotion, and enormous enthusiasm.
"We feel a sense of fulfilment."
The 63-year-old also thanked members of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) and his players, saying that it had been "a great pleasure" to lead them, before offering "a big hug to all".
The former Porto and Al Ahly boss, who also had spells in charge of Venezuela and Saudi Arabia, was named as Nigeria's head coach in September 2021, although he did not formally take charge until May 2022 because of a disagreement over his contract.
Issues around salary were not uncommon during his time in the hot seat, with Peseiro agreeing to take a pay cut in September last year in order to allow him to stay on and lead the Super Eagles at the Nations Cup.
With the NFF openly admitting to facing financial challenges, Peseiro's departure at the end of his contract has not come as a surprise.
But with Nigeria having made a disappointing start to their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign, finding a replacement will be the federation's next challenge.
Djamel Belmadi had been in charge of Algeria since 2018 and guided them to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations title
Algeria appoint Petkovic
While Nigeria are now on the hunt for a new coach, Algeria have appointed former Switzerland boss Vladimir Petkovic as they look to turn around their fading fortunes.
The 60-year-old led Switzerland for seven years, helping them reach the quarter-finals of the last European Championships with a last-16 victory over world champions France.
Petkovic replaces Djamel Belmadi, who left in January, external after the 2019 Nations Cup winners failed to get past the group stage for the second tournament in a row.
Algeria lead their World Cup qualifying group with six points from two games, ahead of Botswana, Guinea, Uganda, Mozambique and Somalia.
Song's reign ends on sour note
Rigobert Song represented Cameroon at eight Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, a joint record, winning two titles
Earlier in the week, Rigobert Song became the latest post-Afcon managerial casualty after the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot) decided not to renew his contract, ending a two-year spell in charge.
The former Liverpool and West Ham defender, who won 137 caps with Cameroon as a player, led the Indomitable Lions to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where they beat Brazil but exited in the group stage.
But he could only guide the side to the last-16 at the recent Nations Cup, where they were beaten by Nigeria.
"Today the Executive Committee of the Cameroonian Football Federation notified the members of the Indomitable Lions staff of the end of their contract to manage Cameroon's senior men's national team," Fecafoot said in a statement., external.
"In the next few days, the details of the recruitment process for a new Indomitable Lions coaching staff will be announced."