Sports
‘No Coaching Vacancy In Eagles’
Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) President, Sani Lulu Abdullahi said on Monday that the Federation has not at anytime declared vacant the position of Super Eagles’ head coach, currently occupied by Mr. Shuaibu Amodu.
“We appreciate that as a result of Nigeria’s qualification for the 2010 African Nations Cup and World Cup finals, there is bound to be extensive debate over certain issues.
But the NFF wishes to make clear that there is no vacancy for the Head Coach’s position. We have followed the raging debate over a new head coach or whatever and we find it necessary to make this clarification,” said Lulu.
Few days to the Moslem world’s celebration of the Eid-el-Kabir, Lulu reiterated that some people are simply wasting precious time sharpening knives for a ram that had long bolted.
“Coaching, as in most sectors of football, has to do with results. Let us forget the sound and fury, and work with statistics.
In his 15 years in and out of the senior team as Head Coach, Shuaibu Amodu has lost only one competitive match. In 12 matches during qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, he won nine and drew three, losing none.
“It is time that we start appreciating what we have as a people. This is the re-branding that the Federal Government is talking about. It is hard to find a man with such record in today’s international game, and who has also qualified his country for the FIFA World Cup on two occasions, not even talking about Amodu’s feat in earning us our first berth in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. We made a pledge to stick by Amodu and we will not go back now.”
Lulu made it clear that Wednesday’s meeting of the NFF Executive Committee will deliberate on how Nigeria can participate creditably at next year’s African Nations Cup and World Cup finals, as well as in other international engagements.
Amodu, who also qualified Nigeria for the 2002 World Cup finals by leading the Eagles to win their last two matches of an otherwise floundering campaign, attended Friday’s African Nations Cup Draw ceremony in Luanda, Angola. He was there with NFF’s 1st Vice President Amanze Uchegbulam, General Secretary Bolaji Ojo-Oba and Media Officer Ademola Olajire.
The Eagles are housed in Group C against defending champions Egypt, Mozambique and Benin Republic in the group phase.
Nigeria will play Cup holders Egypt in the opening match of Group C in Benguela with tantalizing games against neighbours Benin Republic and World Cup qualifying foes Mozambique to follow. The match against Mozambique will take place in Lubango.
Benguela is 692 kilometres from the capital Luanda. There is no land transportation in a country devastated by three decades of civil war, and where infrastructure has largely collapsed. There is a big race to get key issues like stadia, airports and hospitals ready for the finals and basic things are in short supply despite oil money.
Benguela is a city of 1.4 million people while Lubango is a city of 2.6 million inhabitants. The Benguela Stadium has capacity for 35,000 people while Lubango Stadium can hold 20,000.
Already, the Nigeria Embassy in Luanda has started mobilizing the approximately 5,000 Nigerians living in Angola to be ready to travel to Benguela and Lubango to support the Super Eagles in January. Nigeria’s first match is against Egypt on January 12, with the game against Benin Republic coming up four days later and that against Mozambique scheduled for Lubango on January 20.
Only Denmark, ranked 21st globally, sits higher among nations that failed to qualify for the tournament, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
England and Chelsea legend John Terry was among those to voice his disappointment, describing Nigeria as a significant loss to a tournament that features 48 nations for the first time.
“Nigeria will be a big miss. This is a World Cup for participants who haven’t had the opportunity to play in the tournament. I would have loved to see a top team like Nigeria there because they’ve got some great individuals. They’re a great nation,” Terry said during a virtual roundtable session organised by SuperSport.
“I think they are a big miss because Nigeria probably would have gone further in the competition, but unfortunately, one side’s loss is another’s gain,” the former England captain added.
Eric Chelle’s side finished second in Group C of the CAF World Cup qualifiers behind South Africa, who secured automatic qualification. Nigeria kept their hopes alive with a playoff semi-final victory over Gabon before falling to the Democratic Republic of Congo on penalties in the decisive playoff final — their second successive absence from the World Cup after also missing the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
The Nigeria Football Federation later challenged DR Congo’s qualification, alleging the use of ineligible players during the campaign, but the appeal was dismissed.
Despite missing the World Cup, the Super Eagles remain Africa’s 3rd highest-ranked team behind Morocco, who sit seventh in the world, and Senegal. Algeria and Egypt complete the continent’s top five.
Defending champions Argentina enter the tournament as the world’s top-ranked side, ahead of Spain, France, England and Portugal. Brazil are sixth, followed by Morocco, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
The next FIFA World Ranking will be released on July 20, a day after the World Cup final.
Chima Akachukwu and Miracle Akhigbe are among the 16 notable stars picked by the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) for the forthcoming Namibia Tour, where the YellowGreens will compete in a T20 and 50-Over Tri-Series, featuring hosts Namibia and Hong Kong China.
Both players make their way back into the YellowGreens fold after periods away from the side and will be eager to contribute their experience and quality as Nigeria pursues success in Namibia.
The NCF said yesterday that the squad, which departs Nigeria today, forms part of the national team’s continued preparations for future international assignments as the YellowGreens seek to build on recent performances and strengthen their standing on the global stage.
Leading the squad is Captain Sulaimon Runsewe, who will spearhead Nigeria’s campaign against two formidable opponents in what promises to be a highly competitive series.
The selected squad combines experienced internationals with emerging talents, providing the technical crew an opportunity to assess player development and team combinations in both the T20 and 50-over formats.
The team will be led on tour by Coaches Leke Oyede and Tamuno John, who will oversee preparations and match operations during the opening phase of the series.
Joining the squad later in Namibia will be the newly appointed Head Coach and High Performance Manager, Stephen Magongo, whose arrival marks another significant step in the Federation’s commitment to strengthening the national team structure and enhancing player development pathways.
Supporting the coaching staff are Team Analyst Jamal Okechukwu, Strength and Conditioning Coach Seye Olympio, and Team Physiotherapist Timothy Adesomowo, forming a well-rounded technical crew focused on maximising player performance and welfare throughout the tour.
The NCF views the Namibia Tri-Series as an important platform for the continued growth of the national team, offering valuable international exposure and competitive match experience against quality opposition. The series will provide the players and technical crew with another opportunity to evaluate progress, fine-tune strategies, and build momentum ahead of future international competitions.
The YellowGreens will face Namibia and Hong Kong China in both T20 and 50-over contests, with the matches expected to test the team’s adaptability, discipline, and resilience in challenging conditions.
Blessing Otu on Monday overcame hard-fighting Kelvin Bebe- Emmanuella in two sets of 6-1, 6-3 to qualify for the second round of the women’s singles of the ongoing 47th Central Bank of Nigeria Senior Tennis Championship, held at the Tennis Courts of the package “B” of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Speaking after the round of 32 game, Otu, who will be 19 years old in September, said she capitalised on her opponent’s weaknesses to gain victory, having studied her game very well.
“Bebe is a very good and tough player. But I studied her game and did the job well.
“Although she tried to come back in the second set, I punctured all her tricks to win the match and move on. I wish I could continue like this in the rest of my games,” she said.
Another member of the Otu family, John Out, was also victorious as he defeated Mohammed Abdusalam 2-1 (6-2, 6-7, 6-1) in the men’s singles category to advance into the round of 32.
But the third Otu in the game, Thomas, was not that lucky as he lost by 6-0, 7-5 in two straight sets to Danjuma Isaac.
In other matches, Michael Emmanuel defeated Ibrahim Aminu to advance, while Drimiya Mevi outclassed Seyi Ogunsakin by beating him 2-1 (6-7, 6-3, 6-1). Action continues tomorrow when other top players, including the men’s singles top seed, Abua Cannice, join the chase for honours.
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