A former player of Jasper United of Awka and current handler of Greenlock FC of Lagos, Abdulfatai Omotanwa Abdulwahab has sent a clarion call to all clubs in the domestic league to ensure they get different coaches for each department of the game.
Sports247 reports that Abdulwahab, who also played for LSDPC of Lagos as well as Eleven Arrows and Blue Water FC of Namibia, decried the current situation in which Nigerian league clubs make their coaches carry out multiple duties in the team.
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Abdulwahab, who has also coached in Benin Republic and South Africa, raised this objection while airing his views during ‘Hot Seat’ segment of Sports247’s television programme, Inside Naija Sports, which is broadcast every weekend on NTA Sports24 as well as via YouTube.
While further opining that various cadres of the Nigerian league are riddled with negative issues regarding refereeing as well as unpaid salaries of players and coaches, Abdulwahab stressed that a lot of effort is still needed on the domestic front.
The holder of CAF B-licence, FCAAN D-diploma and UEFA C-level 1 certificates went to suggest the employment of gaffers who handle specific positions instead of being saddled with all technical duties.
“A major problem in Nigeria is that we don’t have division of labour for our coaches. In Nigeria, the chief coach will be the one to train the strikers, the goalkeepers, the defenders and the midfielders.
“I saw a different setting when I got to Namibia and when I also travelled to South Africa. I saw them with different coaches for strikers, midfielders, defenders and goalkeepers.
“Some Clubs even have a throw-in coach. But, in Nigeria, we don’t have all of that. So, how do you expect us to be good in each department of the game?” Abdulwahab asked rhetorically.
He concluded with an inference that all of the country’s national teams also need specialised coaches for each department, in order to make the players more effective in carrying out their various roles on the field of play.
“We need specialised coaches in various positions of play for us to produce quality players, especially strikers. That’s one reason why the striker’s position is becoming a problem in the Super Eagles.
“We also need to look at how to make the domestic league better and free of many challenges that we currently see every season,” Abduwahab advocated.
