‘Nigerian Coaches Need Encouragement, Support’

The Chairman, Senate

Committee on Sports, Senator Adamu Gumba (PDP-Bauchi), said in Abuja that Nigerians should be proud of and support home-based coaches.

Speaking to journalists ahead of the planned public hearing by the committee on the dwindling fortunes of football in the country, Gumba said Nigerians must encourage and support local talent.

“Truly, we as Nigerians should be proud that we have local coaches. If  you can get somebody at home to do the job why spend your money hiring somebody outside?

“The one we have now has served in one other African country, took that country to the World Cup. So, if he can take Nigeria to the World Cup what is wrong in that, why discard him?

“In my opinion, Nigerian Football Association can hire either a Nigerian or a foeign coach depending on the time and situation it finds itself in.”

Gumba lamented that Nigerian Football Association can hire either a Nigerian or a foreign coach depending on the time and situation it finds itself in.”

Gumba lamented that Nigeria had fallen from the number five position in football in 1994 and to the current 57.

“The country Nigeria is going backward trend that he sponsored a motion that resulted in the conduct of the public hearing with the aim of getting memoranda from stakeholders on h ow to resuscitate sports generally with particular reference to football.

On the Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) squabble with the Nigeria Football Association 9NFA0, Gumba said that although the body operating now, called itself NFF, the law recognized NFA.

He, however, said that the committee had began a process of permanently solving the problem by drafting a bill to repeal the NFA Act and replace it with the NFF act.

He explained that the issue would be resolved with passage of the bill.