A member of the technical committee of the Nigeria Football Federation Victor Ikepba says the appointment of Finidi George as the coach of the Super Eagles wasn’t the decision of the technical committee saddled with the role of picking a coach for the team, OwnGoalNigeria.comreports.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) yesterday announced former international Finidi as the new coach of the team on a permanent basis after holding the role in interim capacity following the exit of Jose Peseiro as coach in February.
Peseiro left following the expiration of his contract as coach, a few weeks after leading the team to a second place finish at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire. His position was subsequently declared vacant by the NFF.
Coaches from all over the world applied for the job and the technical committee was mandated to pick a suitable coach for the role. Ikpeba who was a part of the committee said the newly appointed coach wasn’t their top choice for the job.
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“Firstly, I want to congratulate Finidi George on his appointment as the Super Eagles coach. However, it was a difficult task because we (technical committee) initially wanted a foreign manager”, he said during the broadcast of Monday Night football.
“However, we settled for Finidi because of the finance. It’s not like we don’t have confidence in our own coaches back home. We thought there should be continuity in the way Peseiro took the team to the final of the 2023 AFCON. So, eventually, we were guided by the NFF President to look inward.
“It’s not that we can’t afford a foreign manager, but Nigerians back home want a Nigerian coach, and that is what we have now”, he stated.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
