The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has been urged not to look beyond employing the services of a qualified local coach to manage the Super Eagles of Nigeria following the recent departure of Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro.
A former sports executive, Elias Gora, requested on Friday, pleading with the NFF not to denigrate Nigerian coaches when selecting a permanent manager for the Super Eagles.
Gora, who made the call during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said that Nigerian coaches have what it takes to handle the senior national team.
He said, “It is about time the job is done by our homemade coaches who have contributed perfectly to the team.
“This is a reality; we can see other countries like Cameroon and Senegal that engaged their local coaches and performed excellently in the past.
“It’s your own that will lead you to success; look at Cote d’Ivoire, which succeeded by employing their local coach.
“There are so many Nigerians that have done that perfectly, so why are we now looking down on them presently?”
The NFF is currently making moves to name a new coach for the Super Eagles of Nigeria after parting ways with Portuguese tactician Jose Peseiro.
Since Jose Peseiro’s 22-month tenure as head coach of the senior national team officially ended in February 2024, Nigeria has been without a head coach. This has forced the NFF to publish a vacancy for the position of Super Eagles head coach.
Numerous foreign and local coaches, including Sunday Oliseh, Finidi George, Daniel Amokachi, Antonio Conceicao, and Emmanuel Amuneke, are reportedly among those who have applied for the position.
However, a source has revealed that the NFF will stop at nothing to ensure that they get it by hiring a coach next month who will take the Super Eagles to the highest level.
