Namibia’s Coach Urges Support For Falcon’s Coach

Chief Coach of Namibia’s senior women football team, Jacqueline Shipanga, has called for support for her Nigerian counterpart, Eucharia Uche, advising that Uche should be left in-charge of the Nigerian team.

Shipanga whose team lost 0-7 to the Super Falcons in a 2012 Olympic Games qualifier on April 3 in Abuja, last weekend said that Uche deserved respect.

“We of the female stock are not asking our male counterparts for any favour but what we deserve. Don’t give us anything on a platter of gold.

“We have come a long way and we deserve some respects. Uche in her case has also come a long way and should get that respect from Nigerians,” she said.

Shipanga spoke against the background of calls for more technical support for Uche and complaints raised about the team’s performance against Namibia.

The Nigeria Football Association (NFA) has since about three weeks ago drafted German coach Thomas Obliers to the team, although he did not sit on the team’s bench against Namibia.

“Uche has done a lot for the Falcons. She played for the team for many years and won titles and now she has coached the team and also won honours.

“She won the African Women Championship (AWC) title and the World Cup ticket,  the first time by any woman coach.

“So, why not give her the same chance you will give her male counterparts.

“It is not the same thing you do to our male counterparts, and it is clear Uche is as good and deserving of respect like any other male coach anywhere,” Shipanga said.

The Brave Warriors coach who has handled some Namibian clubsides before joining the national team said replacing Uche as the Falcons technical chief would be disastrous for Nigeria.

“Uche is a very good coach from what I can see and replacing her will not only be counter-productive but also going to be really unfair.

“It will not be good for Nigeria in the long run,” she said.

Shipanga who is also a former player and a FIFA instructor for women football and grassroots development, said that Nigerians should rather encourage Uche to further develop her coaching abilities.

“She only needs encouragement from Nigerians to be able to advance in coaching and do better than she is doing now,” she said.

Uche had faced constant criticisms, regarding her coaching capabilities since she took charge of the team in 2009, and was always under fire even when her team was winning.

The Falcons’ inability to score more than a goal in the second half after putting in six goals in the first half of the 7-0 win over Namibia on Sunday, also raised questions about Uche’s ability.

However, the NFA recently drafted Obliers, coach of German league clubside SC 07 Bad Neuenahr, to the team as a response to the calls, although his position in the team has not been made public.