Senator John Owan Enoh, Nigeria’s Minister of Sports Development, has shed light on the delay in announcing the new coach for the Super Eagles, citing the imperative to avoid the mistakes of the past and secure qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
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In an interview with Channels Sports in Lagos, Senator Enoh emphasized the significance of appointing a new coach promptly to steer the national team through the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. He acknowledged the disappointment of not qualifying for the previous World Cup and underscored the need to learn from past errors.
The NFF has been without a coach since the expiration of Jose Peseiro’s contract. The team was managed by Finidi George during the last two friendly matches. The delay in the appointment of a new coach has raised eyebrows among Nigerians, but the Minister assured that the NFF is being careful not to repeat the mistake of not qualifying for the last World Cup.
“The campaign for the next World Cup has started and we didn’t start well. We didn’t qualify for the last World Cup and can’t afford not to be at the next edition,” said Enoh. He added that the NFF is conscious of the upcoming World Cup qualifiers and is doing everything possible to avoid a repeat of the previous disappointment.
The Minister further stated that the NFF is expected to consolidate on their performance at the AFCON. “What I can assure is that the senior national team will have a coach in the next one week and at most two weeks,” he said.
While the NFF is yet to reveal the outcome of their Technical Committee meetings on the appointment of the next Super Eagles Coach, Domenec Torrent and Emmanuel Amunike are reportedly leading the race for the job.
The NFF is aware of what Nigeria lost by not being at the last World Cup and is committed to ensuring that the same mistake is not repeated.
