Technical Committee unaware of NFF’s plan to hire foreign coach, Chukwu reveals

The Nigeria Football Federation’s (NFF) Technical Committee has denied knowledge of the federation’s bid to hire a foreign coach for the senior national team, the Super Eagles.

Speaking with The Guardian yesterday, a member of the committee, Christian Chukwu, said the committee has not received any information on the foreign coach issue, adding that they have only read of the federation’s plans through media reports.

He posited that the committee, whose job is to advise the NFF on the appointment of coaches and selection of players for all the national teams, should be carried along when such vital issues as the hiring of a coach is being considered.

The former Super Eagles coach, however, said the committee would soon meet to discourse the future of Nigeria football, adding that Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2017 African Nations Cup is a clear opportunity for all football stakeholders to come together and look at ways of revamping the senior national team.

Chukwu believes Nigeria still has quality players that can change the fortune of the team, adding that harnessing such talents has been a major problem for the country.

“If they need the committee’s advice, we are ready to give the necessary options to support the course. Our mission now is to look at ways of making the Eagles super again,” he said.

Nigeria lost the bid to qualify for the Gabon 2017 African Nations Cup by failing to Egypt in the qualifiers both in Kaduna and Alexandria.

Egypt held the Eagles to a 1-1 draw in Kaduna and beat them 1-0 in Alexandria to secure the only ticket tom the Nations Cup from Group G of the qualifiers.

Failure to qualify for Gabon 2017 marked the third time in four editions that Nigeria will not feature at the Nations Cup. The Eagles failed to qualify for the 2012 edition of the competition hosted by Gabon and Equatorial and also the 2015 edition hosted by Equatorial Guinea.