Sports

Put Nigeria Integrity First Before Appointment Of Super Eagles Coach – National Assembly Urges NFF, Ministry of Sports

Published

1 year ago

April 20, 2024

The National Assembly has urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Ministry of Sports to put the integrity of the country first before appointment of next Super Eagles Coach.

Since the exit of former Super Eagles Coach, Jose Peseiro in February, the NFF is yet to appoint a successor with must-win World Cup qualifying games getting closer.

The House Committee on Sports emphasized the importance of upholding Nigeria integrity before a coach would be employed as the coach of Super Eagles.

They warned against having a repeated scenario like in the past, where the country name was dragged in the mud because the NFF and the Ministry couldn’t secure the payment of foreign national team coaches.

The House Committee on Sports, however, supports the idea of bringing on board a foreign coach only if the NFF and the Ministry of Sports had worked out modalities on the payment of the coaches without owing.

The Chairman, House Committee on Sports, Hon Ekene Adams highlighted the significance of having an indigenous coach who is capable, experienced and have the qualification to lead the Nigeria senior men’s national team.

Furthermore, the National Assembly hammered on the need for transparency in the selection process to ensure that the best candidate is chosen to lead the Super Eagles.

He said, “We are thinking of hiring a foreign coach and the question is, do we have the money to hire a foreign coach without owing him?

He added, “We are not saying they should not hire a foreign coach if they have the money to pay without owing him.
The National Assembly standpoint is that, they should not hire a coach they cannot afford to pay, they must make sure they hire a coach they can pay at the end of every month because we will not fold our hands and allow anyone to drag Nigeria name in dispute.

“If truly we have qualified coaches among our indigenous coaches who have submitted applications and can do the job, we should give them the opportunity to lead team to success. The likes of Daniel Amokachi, Finidi George, Emmanuel Amunike, and host of other indigenous coaches who have the qualification, experience and have indicated interest in leading the team should be employed.

The Nigeria Super Eagles who have two points from two games will host South Africa in Uyo in June before flying to face the Squirrels of Benin Republic in Abidjan in Match Day 4 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

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Sports

A Triumphant Close to the 22nd National Sports Festival

Published

3 days ago

May 29, 2025

The Gleamer

…As organisers promise another spectacle at closing ceremony on Thursday

Joel Ajayi

After 11 days of a true showcase of sporting competition in multiple Sports by some of the country’s top and even promising athletes, the curtain will finally be drawn on what many have described as one of the best ever organised National Sports festivals, when the closing ceremony is held on Thursday at the MKO Sports Arena in Abeokuta.

Whilst the quality of the Games’ opening ceremony is still getting tongues wagging, the entire sporting family and beyond is now anxiously looking forward to what the closing ceremony will look like.

The last 11 days have showcased Ogun state as a true Sporting hub with potential to even do more, with the quality of the facilities built for the games and the enthusiasm of the people who made the various venues their second home in the last few days.

A big testament to this was the history-making crowd that attended the male football final between Ogun state and Kwara State, which the host won by 4-1.

The MKO stadium was filled to full capacity while the crowd outside watching from the big screen reminds one of how much Sports is truly the soul of our togetherness as a country.

From the Alake Sports centre in Ijeja and the Baptist boys high school, to the Obafemi Awolowo square and the Remo stadium both in Ikenne, to the NYSC orientation camp in Shagamu, and the Ilisan town hall in Ilisan, the festival never lacked spectatorship throughout the games.

The Games actually lived up to the pre-tournament hype as both the National Sports Commission, NSC and the Ogun state Government pulled out every administrative capacity to ensure both athletes, officials and the media have an unforgettable experience.

The Gateway Games 2024 had been full of exciting drama and intrigues amongst the states and athletes which led to different new records being set and some old records being shattered.

The festival has also produced for the country some new exciting young talents especially with the shocking performance of the 38th state, the Invited Junior Athletes ( IJA), where they ended up winning some surprised medals to justify the Commission’s establishment of the initiative.

As the Closing ceremony holds on Thursday, the leadership of the National Sports commission, NSC, expresses its profound gratitude to the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Ogun State Government for making sure millions of Nigerian youths see a renewed brighter future in the country through the National Sports Festival.
The NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dilko said ” our overwhelming gratitude goes to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,GCFR, for his personal commitment to the development of Nigerian Sports by giving us every support financially and otherwise for the success of this festival”.

” And the Ogun state Governor, Dapo Abiodun also deserves a huge praise for the feat we all recorded with these games. I can’t thank him enough and posterity will surely remember him for good “.

The NSC Director General who is also the Chairman of the Main organising committee of the games, Hon Bukola Olopade also extended his gratitude to all the technocrats behind the scene that are responsible for the successful organisation of the games.

” From all the members of the Main organising committee to the various sub committees, to members of the local organising committees and all our technical officials in the various sports to the media and our athletes, every success that everyone is talking about concerning these Games belongs to you all”.

” Yes it was not a perfect festival because we acknowledged we had also some challenges but let me assure everyone that some of the challenges are already being worked upon ahead of the next Games holding in Enugu state next year”, he concluded.

The Closing ceremony is expected to bring together top Government functionaries to captain of industries while there will also be the rich cultural display of the state as Ogun state will officially pass the barton of hosting to Enugu state for the 23rd edition of the Games come September 2026.

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