The technical director of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Augustine Eguavoen has come out with a down-to-earth acknowledgement that he owes the nation’s players and coaches more effort to promote further development of the game in the country.
Sports247 reports that Eguavoen made the declaration during the opening day of a Confederation of African Football (CAF) B-license coaches refresher course in Abuja, which he said will be beneficial to many stakeholders in the round leather game.
While 50 coaches (in two batches of 25 participants each) are in attendance at the refresher course, which is billed to hold for six days alongside a training programme for referees, the former Super Eagles’ defender and captain believes more people will benefit from the programme.
‘Cerezo’ added that the course became imperative to upgrade coaches in the country with updated tactics, ideas and technicalities of football, especially now that Nigeria has been admitted back into the CAF A-License Coaching Convention.
He commended some elite Nigerian coaches for turning up for the ongoing first batch of the refresher course, among whom are Fidelis Ilechukwu, Kennedy Boboye, Adanna Nwaneri, Ladan Bosso, Imama Amapakabo and Edema Fuludu.
Others are Aliyu Zubairu, Edith Agoye, Olatunji Baruwa, Charity Enwerem, Gregory Ikhenoba, Rollandson Odeh, Abdul Maikaba, Eugene Agagbe, Patrick Bassey, Abdullahi Biffo, Mansur Abdullahi, Haruna Ilerika and John Obuh.
Eguavoen, who was part of the Super Eagles’ 1994 Africa Cup of Nations winning team and was in the country’s first squad to any edition of the FIFA World Cup, also stated delight with progress so far made towards training the trainers in Nigeria.
“I’m satisfied with what we have done and where we are taking Nigerian coaches. If I leave the office today somebody will continue, but I am not leaving yet. I owe this to Nigerian coaches and players in terms of football’s development,” he said.
