Daily Independent Online.
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Monday, July 26, 2004.
Commissioner warns NFA against using and dumping coaches
By Orkula Shaagee
Correspondent, Abuja
Ogun State
Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Otunba Fatai Sowemimo has warned the Nigeria
Football Association to henceforth desist from its attitude of dumping coaches
after using them to achieve results.
The commissioner,
who sounded the warning during a chat with Daily Independent in Abuja, was
particularly angry that despite their excellent performances, the NFA has not
seen anything good in Nigerian coaches.
“I want to warn the Nigeria
Football Association over this their attitude of dumping Nigerian coaches after
achieving results, the other time it was Ahmodu Shaibu, then Stephen Keshi and
now it is Chukwu, but all these will not help us; if they feel that Nigerian
coaches are not experienced they should train them to cope with modern football
techniques”, Sowemimo advised.
He observed that
the nation’s football will remain where it is today if the Nigeria
Football Association is not thinking of developing its local contents for
maximum utilization.
Sowemimo also
warned the football ruling body to de-emphasise dependence on the old players,
saying this will boomerang in the near future as most of them like Austin
Okocha will soon run out of form.
“It is wrong to continue depending
on the old generation of Super Eagles, people like Austin Okocha will soon run
out of form, and I have seen some young players who could be groomed to replace
the ageing ones” Sowemimo said.
On the
restructuring of the Nigeria Football Association, the commissioner says, the
restructuring should go beyond the NFA and start from the grassroots because
the country is in need of good football administrators who would improve the
fortunes of the nation’s football in years to come.
