The President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Sani Lulu Abdullahi on Monday morning shed light on why the Super Eagles coach Shuaibu Amodu was sacked and the reason the Federation has decided to go for an expatriate Technical Adviser for the national football team.
At a breakfast meeting with the President of African Business Round-table, Bamanga Tukur in Abuja, Lulu insisted that the Federation was sensitive to the demands of passionate Nigerians, both highly -placed and not -so-highly placed, for a Technical Adviser who will drive the team to play professionally and with discipline as the FIFA World Cup finals approach.
Lulu Abdullahi and some members of the NFF Management were visiting Bamanga Tukur, one -time civilian Governor of old Gongola State and a former presidential aspirant to show appreciation for the “Africa Star Excellence Award In Football Administration’ conferred on the NFF President by African Leadership magazine.
The magazine said that in arriving at this decision, their consultants took cognizance of “your strategic focus on performance of FIFA U-17 World Championship which was hosted successfully and Nigeria won silver while Nigeria senior team qualified for the Mundial (World Cup) against all odds”. The award will be presented at a ceremony in Paris, France between February 19-22.
World Cup
Speaking further, Lulu Abdullahi said the NFF is determined to see the Super Eagles perform creditably at the first -ever World Cup finals to be staged on African soil, noting that “football is one of the instruments that nations now use to position themselves in the international sphere”.
Responding, Tukur acknowledged the power of football, saying that three things, namely sports, trade and tourism are the issues that unite any nation.
“Everytime there is a football match, whether in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Johannesburg or Douala, you feel it in the air. The cheapest and most effective way of showcasing a country these days is football.
“I urge you to forge ahead with the same confidence, character and courage. My belief is that wherever there’s a challenge, there’s always an opportunity. It is the opportunity that you should always look for to lead Nigeria football to the top.”
No grudges over snub
Meanwhile Coach of the Mozambican national team Mart Nooij insists he bears no grudges with the Nigeria Football Federation regarding his omission from the list of coaches shortlisted for the Super Eagles coaching job even though he is a bit disappointed that he only got to learn of the development from sources outside of the NFF.
The Dutchman was linked with the Nigerian job towards the tail end of the World Cup qualifiers and was fancied to replace Shaibu Amodu and lead the Super Eagles to the World Cup in June. According to Nooij, there had always been an open line of communication between him and the NFF thus his disappointment at the NFF’s decision not to relay news of his exclusion from the coaches’ shortlist through to him.
From the grapevine
Speaking from South Africa where he insists he is on holidays, Nooij said “I have been speaking with them for some time now but they didn’t tell me anything about the list. I heard about it from a couple of my friends here but I am not disappointed I didn’t get the job. Maybe I’m a bit disappointed that I only got to hear about it from people in South Africa but I have an offer waiting for me in Mozambique. The (Mozambican) FA still wants me and I will hold discussions with them when I return,” he added.
Favourites
Amongst the six coaches shortlisted for the Super Eagles job are two Dutchmen - Guus Hiddink and Louis van Gaal - but Nooij can’t envision his compatriots leaving their current employers for the Nigerian job.
“Guus Hiddink is with Russia and Louis van Gaal I believe is happy at Bayern Munich so I can’t imagine any of them coming to work in Africa even if it’s for the World Cup,” continued Nooij who feels former Senegal coach Bruno Metsu will be firm favourite to grab the job of leading the Super Eagles to South Africa 2010.
“He (Metsu) has worked in Africa and knows how to do business here. He has also been to the World Cup so, maybe, that will give him an advantage over the others,” added Nooij.
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