By Uche Amunike
The Minister of Sports, Senator John Enoh, has given Nigerians the assurance that in the next one or two weeks, the name of the Super Eagles new coach world be announced.
The team has been handled by Finidi George all this time, as the Nigerian Football Federation scouts for a substantial replacement for Jose Peseiro whose contract ended in February.
Speaking during Channels TV’s ‘Sports Tonight’ Show on Thursday, the Sports Minister stated:
‘Unfortunately, the senior national team doesn’t have a coach. We played two friendlies and had just Finidi George oversee those two matches.’
‘The first responsibility of getting a coach lies with the NFF and I have been in touch with the NFF because I think Nigerians didn’t expect that after AFCON and after the contract with coach Peseiro came to an end and wasn’t renewed, that it will take as long and not have a coach yet.’
‘But NFF is conscious and mindful that our next qualifiers in June, what I can assure is that in the next one or two weeks at the most, the senior national team will have a new coach,’ Enoh said.
He also maintained that the Super Eagles will be hoping to bounce back from the disappointing draws they had with Lesotho and Zimbabwe during the World Cup qualifiers against South Africa in June, adding that he had confidence that Nigeria could not afford to miss out on another World Cup after the debacle that played out in 2022.
Hear him: ‘I think we have not had a tremendous start. It’s a shaky one, and therefore, there is a milage to cover given that we didn’t go for the last World Cup. We cannot afford not to go for the next and therefore everything needs to be done.’
‘Coming after AFCON and coming after we have had a tremendous show somewhat, I think everybody expects that we should be able to consolidate on that and take it from there,’ he averred.
Meanwhile, the NFF Technical Committee will sit to finalize on the much awaited appointment of the Super Eagles new coach. Recall that the sub-committee was inaugurated in August 2023 and their recommendations will be overseen by the NFF Executive Committee which is headed by its President, Ibrahim Gusau, before the appointment is announced.
Below are the committee members
Chairman: Sharif Inuwa Ahlan: Apart from being the Kano NFF Chairman, he’s also an executive committee member of the NFF. He is a businessman and is generally seen as the closest pal of the NFF President, Gusau.
Vice Chairman: Felix Anyanwu-Agwu- He is the first Vice President of the NFF and has formerly headed this particular committee. He led Enyimba to their most successful run, which includes two CAF Champions League and nine NPFL championships.
Aminu Kurfi Balele: He is the FA Chairman of Katsina State and a member of the Federal House of Representatives. A businessman and politician, he is stakeholder in Nigerian football and a former Chairman of NPFL Club, Katsina United.
Victor Ikpeba: He was CAF African Footballer of the Year in 1997 and was a part of the historic 1996 Olympic gold, as well as the 1994 and 1998 World Cups. He is one of the longest serving members of this committee and currently a pundit with Super Sport TV.
Felix Owolabi: He is a former international and played a major role when Nigeria won a first ever AFCON on home soil in 1980.
Olayinka Alagbemiro: He is an Academy owner in Abuja, who is known for his managerial prowess at the famous Stationary Stores and TikiTaka Nigeria.
Zanna Mala: He is a close pall of the NFF President and also a former El Kanemi Warriors Chairman.
Augustine Eguavoen: He was a captain with the former Super Eagles and has gone on to handle the national team a couple of times. He is the committee secretary and
