NFF Explains Delay In Naming Eagles Coach … Takes Swipe At Emenike
NFF Explains Delay In Naming Eagles Coach … Takes Swipe At Emenike
The Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has disclosed that it is not in a hurry to name a substantive coach for the Super Eagles.
This is even as the football house came down hard on former Eagles striker, Emmanuel Emenike, over his comment regarding Joseph Yobo’s testimonial match and the Super Eagles friendly match against Mali, which all fall on the same day.
According to Seyi Akinwunmi, the first vice-president of the federation, lessons have been learnt from recent years, in particular with regards to what had been an ongoing saga with former head coach, Stephen Keshi.
“We need to understand few things. It is not about getting a coach for the Super Eagles because we can bring in coach from anywhere, but not the one who will become a villain the day he loses or draws one match,” Akinwunmi told the media.
“We are not going to rush it since we don’t have any serious competition. We want to use this time to properly look at the best way to correct the wrongs of the past,” he said.
Akinwumi also took a swipe at Emenike after he (Emenike) accused the federation of “insulting” Yobo by fixing Eagles game on the same day with the testimonial match for the ex-Eagles skipper.
The national team plays a friendly match against the Eagles of Mali on May 27 in France, while the Yobo testimonial match holds on the same day at the Adokiye Amesiemaka Stadium in Port Harcourt.
Akinwumi accused Emenike of speaking without facts.
“These players go on air and just spit sometimes,” he began, in reference to Emenike’s accusations.
“I think Emenike does not have the facts for sure and he should have asked for the facts before he went on the air.
“Yobo has been a fantastic performer for Nigeria and the way these things work anywhere in the world is that that testimonial should be done by him alongside the NFF and there wouldn’t have been any conflicts.
When asked if the NFF had been insensitive to have fixed a game on the same day as the Yobo testimonial, Akinwumi suggested it was Emenike who had been insensitive, adding that Yobo should have fixed his testimonial on a different date.
“I think it should be the other way round,” he said. “This is a FIFA-free window and most teams outside the Premier League have concluded their plans and he (Yobo) could have fixed another date,” he argued.
