Sports
NFA Declares Support For Keshi
The Technical and
Development Committee of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) has said that the association has no plans to hire a foreign technical assistant for Super Eagles head coach Stephen Keshi.
The committee said this last Wednesday after its meeting in Abuja, assuring that the NFA was ready to give Keshi all the support he needed to succeed.
Briefing newsmen after the meeting, a member of the committee, told newsmen the committee Emmanuel Ikpeme, needed to make clarifications on certain issues.
He said the task of participating at the Brazil 2014 World Cup was important and the NFA felt it was necessary to give the Super Eagles all-round support.
Ikpeme said the support was necessary “especially now that the Eagles are about to commence preparations for the World Cup in Brazil’’.
Keshi has led the Eagles to qualification for the 2014 World Cup slated for Brazil from June 12 to July 13.
Ikpeme, who is NFA’s Director, Technical, said the committee did not at any time approve or recommend the appointment of any foreign assistant for Keshi.
“It is absolutely very important to reiterate that at no point did the Technical and Development Committee of the NFA ever recommend for the appointment of a technical assistant to Keshi.
“Again, it is also important to reiterate that the NFA is committed to ensuring that Keshi has 100 per cent support of the football house.
“This is to ensure that we have a good outing at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil,’’ he said.
The NFA director also said Keshi has a running contract with the NFA, and that such a situation would make any negotiation he would have with any other football association baseless.
He, therefore, described as “mere speculation’’ the reported request by the South Africa Football Association (SAFA) for Keshi to come and negotiate with them on coaching the Bafana Bafana.
“To me, those reports are speculations. These are all media stories and I don’t think there is any element of truth in that,’’ Ikpeme said.
On Keshi’s request for the recall of Sylvanus Okpala, his sacked assistant coach, the NFA official said it was beyond his jurisdiction to comment on.
Speaking further on the committee’s meeting, Ikpeme said it has recommended to the NFA Executive Committee the upgrading of coach Manu Garba and one of his Golden Eaglets’ assistants.
“The committee had recommended the appointment of Garba as Head Coach of the national under-20 team, the Flying Eagles.
“The committee also recommended to the NFA board the appointment of Nduka Ugbade and Fancy Ewulu as Assistant Coach and Goalkeeper Coach respectively,’’ he said.
Ikpeme said the committee also recommended for the approval of the NFA board the obtaining of a compulsory NFA Coaching Licence for all indigenous coaches.
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
-
Featured2 days agoWASSCE: RSG Distributes Science Materials To Secondary Schools
-
News2 days ago
Xenophobic Attacks: Nigerian Lives More Important Than Foreign Investment – Oshiomhole
-
Rivers3 days ago
MBA Forex Trial Adjourn To June 3, Amid Bereavement … As Court Declines Cost Application
-
News3 days ago
ActionAid Demands Probe Of Govs Using Public Funds For Campaign
-
Aviation3 days ago
Passengers Stranded As Delta Airline From Atlanta Route Back Eight Hours After
-
Business3 days ago
Customs Impound N2.35bn Cocaine, 15 Trailers of Rice
-
Politics3 days ago
2027: Bayelsa Senator Gets Critical Endorsement For Second Term
-
Politics2 days agoINEC Sets Rivers South-East Senatorial By-Election For June 20