Nigeria: Super Eagles to Get New Coach in Two Weeks - Sports Minister

19 April 2024
Vanguard (Lagos)
By Ayobami Okerinde

The Minister of Sports, Senator John Enoh, has announced that the Super Eagles of Nigeria will have a new coach in the next two weeks.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has not yet announced a permanent replacement for Jose Peseiro since his departure as the Super Eagles head coach after the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in February.

Recall that in March, the NFF announced that applications were open for the job of national head coach to replace Jose Peseiro ahead of crucial World Cup qualifiers.

Enyimba coach, Finidi George, who was one of the assistants to Peseiro, led the team in their last two friendly matches against Ghana and Mali.

Finidi led the Super Eagles to a 2-1 victory over Ghana in his first game but suffered a 2-0 loss to Mali in the second match.

Speaking on the situation in a chat with Channels Televisions Sports on Thursday, Enoh stated he's been in touch with the NFF.

He said, "Unfortunately, the senior national team doesn't have a coach. We played two friendlies and had just Finidi George oversee those two matches.

"The first responsibility of getting a coach lies with the NFF, and I have been in touch with the NFF because I think Nigerians didn't expect that after AFCON and after the contract with coach Peseiro came to an end and wasn't renewed, that it will take as long and not have a coach yet.

"But NFF is conscious and mindful that our next qualifiers are in June, what I can assure is that in the next one or two weeks at the most, the senior national team will have a new coach."

The Sports Minister also insisted the Super Eagles could not afford to miss out on the 2026 World Cup taking place in the USA, Mexico, and Canada after not qualifying for the 2022 edition in Qatar.

"I think we have not had a tremendous start. It's a shaky one, and therefore, there is a milage to cover given that we didn't go for the last World Cup. We cannot afford not to go for the next, and therefore everything needs to be done.

"Coming after AFCON and coming after we have had a tremendous show somewhat, I think everybody expects that we should be able to consolidate on that and take it from there," Enoh added.

The Super Eagles are set to play against South Africa and Benin Republic in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in June, and will be looking to recover from disappointing draws against Lesotho and Zimbabwe.

Read the original article on Vanguard.

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