Minister of Sports Pushes for Appointment of Indigenous Coach for Super Eagles
Minister of Sports, Dr. Tammy Danagogo has ordered the new president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Amaju Pinnick and his executives to explain their decision to hire a foreign manager for the Super Eagles.
The NFF board had announced the sack of Coach Stephen Keshi and appointment of interim coach, Amodu Shuaibu, on Wednesday . They had also revealed the option of hiring a foreign coach.
Danagogo has now revealed that he didn’t know about the termination of Keshi’s appointment before it happened, and that he did not also support the decision to employ a foreign coach as one of the aims of the National Sports Commission, which he chairs, is to empower and develop Nigerian coaches.
“I will say I was surprised to hear the sack of Keshi. I must tell you the truth I do not believe in most of the decisions they took. I am aware that there has been this continuous call for the sack of Stephen Keshi. I am also aware that it is actually the responsibility of the NFF to hire and fire any coach they want.
“In as much as I know that what they have done is their responsibility; I am still looking at it. Sincerely I woke up this morning to hear the shocking news. I expected that he would have been sacked after the loss in Sudan. From the way they were reacting before I spoke to them against taking such a decision. But with the good result of Wednesday’s match, I was not expecting anything like sack from the NFF.
“I called them this morning when I heard it in view of my discussion with them over the matter, after the Sudan match. But they said that they had to take the decision after a late night meeting of the board yesterday as the best option for the team to move forward.
“Our programme here is to ensure the growth of our indigenous coaches. Does it mean that we do not have good coaches at home that can do the job very well? If they can give good reasons for the decision to go for a foreign coach, well it is
their decision to make but I must wait until I see the record of the person they want to bring”
