Sports
National Coaches, Others For CAF Course
No fewer than 200 individuals including three serving and over 40 former national coaches have registered for the forthcoming CAF B-Licence coaching programme scheduled for this month in Abuja.
The advance coaching programme, which is one of the three courses being organised by CAF, will hold from March 11 to March 25.
The course was introduced by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) last year, and the continental football governing body has recommended it to all Africa-based coaches.
The Nigeria Football Association (NFA) is jointly organising the course with CAF.
The three serving national coaches are Super Eagles assistant coach Daniel Amokachi, the head coach of the Golden Eaglets, Manu Garba, and Flamingoes’ head coach, Peter Dedevbo.
Others are Austin Eguavoen, Stanley Eguma, Okey Emordi, Kadiri Ikhana, Benedict Iroha, and Erasmus Onuh, all former handlers of the national under-23 male team.
John Obuh, Alphonsus Dike and Hassan Abubakar, all former Eaglets coaches, as well as ex-Super Eagles assistant coaches Bitrus Bewarang, Salisu Yusuf and Amusa Adisa, have also registered for the course.
The list also has Oladunni Oyekale, Ladan Bosso, Usman Adams, Sunday Eresulesi, Monday Odigie and Lawrence Akpokona, who have at one time or the other handled national teams.
Also participating are Niyi Akande, Emmanuel Deutch, Godfrey Esu, Ben Duamlong, Moses Ajala, Solomon Adedara, Ndubuisi Nduka, Julius Alhassan, Abdulganiyu Mustapha, Jimoh Imam and Aliyu Muzambilu.
Others are Danladi Nasidi, Justin Tenger, Taiye Yusuf, Harrison Okagbue, Gbenga Ogunbote, David Egbiri, Samson Unuanel, Samuel Adingi, Andrew Agu, Tunde Sanni, Evans Ogenyi, Bernard Ogbe and Tony Ottah.
The women team coaches who registered for the course are Egan Adat, Ntiero Effiom, Ann Chiejine, Daniel Evumena, Rolandson Odeh and Bala Nikyu, all former national coaches.
Former national players such as Dominic Nwobodo, Jide Dina, Fancy Ewulu, Henry Nwosu, Lookman Oshun and Fatai Amoo have also registered for the course.
CAF has demanded that coaches must hold one of its three categories of certificates before they can sit on the bench of any team or club in any of its organised competitions.
The C-Licence course, the first of the three certificates, was held in October 2011 in Abuja with 80 coaches, drawn from across the country in attendance.
The B-Licence course is a follow-up to the C-Licence course, while the A-Licence course is a more advanced course.
The A-Licence course is not expected to hold in Nigeria until after the country has produced a good number of coaches with the B-Licence.
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.
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