NFF crisis may force federation to settle for Nigerian
Former Super Eagles Star, Jonathan Akpoborie, has kicked against the appointment of another indigenous coach to handle the senior national team after the Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) experiments with Samson Siasia, Stephen Keshi and Sunday Oliseh, reports footballliveng.
In fact, Akpoborie describes a campaign by some stakeholders to force the NFF to settle for a local coach as a disservice to Nigerian players, who, according to him, deserve a better handler than they ‘have been treated to recently.’
Akpoborie said the quality of Nigerian coaches is lower than those of the country’s foreign-based players and thus cannot bring out the best in them.
The former striker argued for the appointment of a foreign coach and insists the difference between the indigenous and foreign coaches is enormous.
Akpoborie, who played in the Bundesliga with VfB Stuttgart and VfL Wolfsburg, had 13 international caps for the Super Eagles.
Meanwhile, there are indications that the NFF may be forced to settle for a local coach for the Eagles next month after a proposed company to foot the bills of an expatriate handler “developed cold feet.”
According to AfricanFootball.com, the recent leadership tussle in Nigerian football may have thrown the oil company off the proposed close to $2 million sponsorship spread over two years.
“The oil company was ready to give the NFF close to $100,000 a month to take care of a top foreign coach and his assistants, but since the latest round of instability in the Nigerian football polity, the company has developed cold feet,” a top source told AfricanFootball.com.
“The NFF on their own do not have the cash to pay for such a coach and the government through the sports minister has made it very clear it will not pay for a foreign coach.
“That could well have informed the NFF recent announcement that the vacant Super Eagles top post will be taken up by the best candidate whether he is local or foreign.”
