NFF’s obsession with foreign coaches - Punch Newspapers

The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations games kicked off last Sunday, January 9, 2022, in Cameroon, amidst high expectations for the Nigerian national team, the Super Eagles, which last won the prestigious competition in 2013 under the guidance of the late coach, Stephen Keshi. The Super Eagles currently top Group ‘D’ and qualified for the next round, having collected six points from their first two matches.

It is always a risky strategy to get rid of a team’s coach in this fashion but the Nigeria Football Federation thought it would have been an even bigger risk to leave Rohr in charge. What boggles the mind, though, is the wisdom of appointing another foreigner to the position. As you will see, this particular foreign coach has no business managing the Super Eagles. Jose Peseiro, a Portuguese journeyman, has been hired to take over as Nigeria’s national coach immediately after AFCON 2021.

Peseiro then took charge of Portugal’s Sporting CP , then Greece’s Panathinaikos FC but won no trophies with either. He later took charge of the Romanian “Rapid” in 2008 and resigned in 2009. Then, he coached Saudi Arabia in 2009 but failed to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. He was appointed head coach of Al-Wahda and Al-Ahly in the United Arab Emirates in 2013 but immediately faced a popular uprising by fans for his “weak” CV.

Lest anyone is miffed by the column’s hard take on this issue, it is not a campaign against foreign coaches per se. Nigeria is not unique in appointing foreign coaches for its national team. Foreign coaches are appointed where the technical expertise is missing in the legion of coaches locally. And, in countries still susceptible to ethnic cleavages, a foreign coach may be appointed to maintain neutrality and impartiality in player selection.

Far from nursing angst about foreign coaches, this column is leading a crusade to make the Nigerian national team NATIONAL in all its facets. Super Eagles are done learning tactics from lightweight foreign imports. Nigerian football players regularly feature in many of the world’s top football leagues. Many of them go on to become coaches. Well, maybe not in the top European or Latin American leagues, but that is by the way.

CAF 2023 should be a lesson to NFF.

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