Sports
Super Eagles: Why Oliseh Must Not Fail
Sunday Oliseh (left) and Nigeria Football Federation President, Amaju Pinnick
Last Wednesday, Nigeria
gave Sunday Oliseh a chance to put in practice all his talk as the new coach of the Super Eagles.
Reactions have been varied over Oliseh’s appointment but in general, they have been favourable.
The former Eagles skipper is widely regarded as a very knowledgeable and tactically sound coach going by his work as a TV pundit and with the FIFA Technical Study Group.
He is also known as someone who does not compromise his high standards as we all saw when he took on the country’s sports officialdom at the 2002 AFCON in Mali.
But again there are those who have questioned his very limited experience as a coach and also if he could go past the many pitfalls that go with holding down one of the toughest jobs in African football.
Quacks today parade themselves as coaches in Nigeria. They are not willing to develop and empower themselves, they are unprofessional and neck-deep in the rot that is Nigerian football now.
That explains why national team coaches are forced to train their call-ups from the domestic league on the basics – from how to kick the ball, passing and positional play.
There are also the numerous sentiments that have affected their judgment and decisions – from what they will be paid for playing a particular player to the pressures the high and mighty exert on them to pick players from them.
A person like Segun ‘Mathematical’ Odegbami is therefore living in the past to have said he would have led a protest march were a Nigerian not hired to replace Keshi.
The former Eagles skipper must have been overcome by patriotic fervour to have contemplated such.
This is because Odegbami ought to know more than most that besides the excess baggage the Nigerian coach comes with, he lacks the tactical acumen at a time when matches are now won on the bench than the pitch.
These coaches do not study their opponents and so they do not have clear and well-thought-out tactics to beat the other team.
Nigeria stars are not playing in the top leagues or some of the top clubs in Europe and some do not even get to play regularly for their foreign clubs.
But it still remains a very lame excuse for how badly the Eagles have played for many, many years now.
A good friend, the Slovenian coach Ivo Sajh, who led Kano Pillars to reach the last four of the 2009 CAF Champions League, told me has applied for the Eagles top post because “Nigeria have not had a coach for the past 10 years!”
The NFF has now displayed the will that they wish to change things for the better.
They must now support Oliseh all the way because he probably remains one of a handful of Nigerians who could get the Eagles flying again.
He in turn has to instill discipline and commitment in his team as well as groom younger players, who are hungry to make a name for themselves.
Were the Oliseh gamble to fail, we would all have to put aside national pride and seek help overseas.
That is why Oliseh cannot afford to bungle the chance a whole nation has now presented him.
.Audu writes for Africanfootball. Com.
Samm Audu
Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, in Rivers State, will be at the centre stage on Wednesday as the VC Cup final, both male and female categories will be played at the prestigious Stadium in the school.
The both final matches promises to be exciting, as arrangements have been concluded to watch one of the best VC football Cup finals in the history.
VC Cup tournament is an annual sporting event that involves all students in various facilities.
According to the Chief coach of the University football team, David Egbiri, the female will final will kick off 2pm between faculty of Human Kinetics and Management Sciences, while the male will kick off by 4pm between Social Science and Natural Applied Science
Egbiri, who was former coach of Abiola Babe FC and Concord FC, lauded the Vice Chancellor. Prof. Okechukwu Onuchukwu for releasing funds on sports development, saying that he has never also failed the School in terms of infrastructural development.
“The VC who is also a sports personality has not failed to release funds for this tournament, apart from that he has not also disappointed in terms of developing the school in all ramifications.
“I want to say that my major reason for accepting to coach the school football team is to develop the youth through sports”, Coach Egbiri said.
The former Eagle Cement Coach, explained that he was not encouraged the way and manner the young ones are going about sports because there is no discipline and so much quest for quick money.
” Honestly, the way young players are looking money was just too much. Looking for short cuts always to make money that is more reason some of them don’t go far and end up badly
” In our days we first of all think about how to make name and we are passionate about it. I went to school and saw myself in sports, while my initial intention was to read electrical engineering” he stated.
Tonye Orabere
The Delta State Sports Commission has come under scrutiny following the state’s disappointing performance at the just-concluded National Youth Games (NYG) in Asaba, where Lagos dethroned Delta to clinch top spot.
Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, visibly displeased with both the poor outing of Team Delta and the organizational lapses witnessed during the Games, summoned an emergency meeting with the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) immediately after the closing ceremony.
Delta, which had dominated the NYG by finishing first in the last eight editions, only managed second place this time — a result the governor described as “totally unacceptable,” especially given the state’s significant investment in the event.
According to a reliable source privy to the meeting, Governor Oborevwori expressed deep disappointment, stressing that his administration had provided all necessary support to the Sports Commission and the LOC to ensure Delta retained its traditional top position.
In a decisive move, the governor demoted his Executive Assistant on Sports and former Director-General of the Sports Commission, Festus Owhojero, under whose leadership the Games were organized. Owhojero was reassigned from Executive Assistant (EA) to Senior Special Assistant (SSA) with immediate effect.
The governor’s action, our source revealed, reflects his zero-tolerance stance on incompetence and underperformance within his administration. Mr. Owhojero thus becomes the first high-profile casualty of the governor’s resolve to reposition sports in Delta State.
Furthermore, Oborevwori directed the Sports Commission and LOC officials to submit a detailed report on the Games, outlining what went wrong and providing recommendations for improvement. The governor emphasized the need for urgent reforms to restore Delta’s dominance, especially as the state is set to host the next edition of the Games under an existing memorandum of understanding (MoU).
The Nigeria Football Federation has distanced itself from a post-match statement that criticised some Super Eagles players following the team’s 1-1 draw with South Africa in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
The statement, issued by the NFF’s Director of Communications, Ademola Olajire, singled out forward Cyriel Dessers and captain William Troost-Ekong for criticism.
It accused Dessers of being sluggish and faulted Ekong for the own goal that gave Bafana Bafana the lead.
However, NFF General Secretary, Mohammed Sanusi, said on Wednesday that the statement did not represent the official position of the Federation.
“I saw the release just like everyone else did. Nobody in the Federation is happy with it,” Sanusi said.
“The NFF did not authorise that statement. We have great respect for all the players. Blaming an individual for a team result is unfair.”
He added that the Federation regards the South Africa match as a collective effort and will not support attempts to scapegoat any player.
“When we win, it’s a team victory. When we lose, it’s also collective. No player should be singled out,” Sanusi said.
He described the targeted criticism of Troost-Ekong as unjustified, noting that the defender had previously been celebrated as the Most Valuable Player at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Côte d’Ivoire.
“It was an unfortunate own goal. His intention was to clear the ball. Anyone who knows football understands that such things happen,” he said..
Sanusi also expressed confidence in the team’s unity, revealing that efforts were ongoing to regroup and refocus ahead of the remaining qualifiers and AFCON.
“Our house is in order. We’re preparing for the rest of the qualifiers and the AFCON in Morocco,” he said.
“There’s no problem with our players or coaching crew. Our relationship remains cordial. The government and the NFF are proud of the players’ efforts.”
The Federation had initially praised Calvin Bassey for his equalising goal and lamented the team’s failure to convert second-half chances.
But Sanusi made it clear that internal disciplinary action would be taken over the unauthorised release.
“I can assure you the NFF will take action on the matter,” he said.
Nigeria currently sit third in Group C of the CAF World Cup qualifiers with 11 points from eight matches. South Africa lead the group with 17 points.
The Super Eagles must now win their remaining games against Lesotho and Benin Republic and hope other results go their way to secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
