The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is going ahead with its plans to hire an expatriate coach for the Super Eagles, despite Federal Government’s opposition.
We learnt on good authority on Friday that the football house will not backpedal in its desire to get an expatriate coach for the senior national team. Reason why the NFF is going ahead with the plan is that it had earlier gotten the approval of the Solomon Dalung, Sports Minister, to hire an expatriate coach for the team.
However, Dalung had on Tuesday expressed Federal Government’s opposition into hiring an expatriate coach for the Super Eagles.
“I have always maintained that we even cannot pay indigenous coaches; we still owe them some months of salaries,” said Dalung at the State House on Tuesday.
“Do we still go and look for a foreign coach and will he (the foreign coach) be able to tolerate us without salaries for some time; more so that we may also be paying him in hard currency. “So it’s a fundamental contradiction to swallow easily.”
Despite this opposition, the NFF has not relented in its efforts at getting a foreign coach.
The source revealed that why NFF was yet to name a substantive coach was its inability to get a sponsor, who will be responsible for the coach’s remuneration.
“The NFF is deliberating on the foreign coach to be appointed,” said the source. “When we have appointed one, we will tell him (Dalung), this is our decision and this is the best for the country. “We have to convince him (Dalung), because if Super Eagles fail to qualify for the World Cup, it is the NFF everybody will blame and not the minister.
“The NFF is working hard towards getting a sponsor for the coach because the minister’s opposition is hinged on funding.”
But Frenchman Paul Le Guen is highly favoured to be named by the NFF, once it gets a sponsor his remuneration. However, Serbian’s Goran Stefanovic, is also favoured. “Le Guen is the leading candidate for now, but you know in the cause of discussion, things can change. It is difficult to be too specific at this moment,” the source added.
credit: independentnig.com
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