What The Nigerian Football System Needs- Ex- Super Eagles Star
An ex-Super Eagles star and Everton striker, Daniel Amokachi has revealed the panacea to the raging problems bedeviling the Nigerian football system.
In a streak of disappointing turn-out of events, the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar after their shocking exit from the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in January this year.
The sack of the team’s technical adviser, Augustine Eguavoen and his merry band by the Nigeria Football Federation,NFF followed suit, complicating matters.
The NFF, in an attempt to rise from the ruins has taken to the appointment of new coaches and a head coach for the top flight team.
On Thursday, April 14, the NFF announced new assistant coaches for the team with the position of head coach still vacant.
The sportsman, however believes recruiting new hands alone will not tackle the system’s prevailing problem, suggesting attention should be paid to bigger structural issues.
In an interview with BBC Sport Africa, the 49-year-old stated;
“Focusing too much on the coaching is like building a house from the roof downwards instead of starting with the right foundation and build upwards.
Do we have a solid developmental programme for our young footballers, a proper long-term plan for our national teams or develop a football identity for the game in our country?
I am a product of the Nigerian league. But have we sorted all the issues around our domestic game, from players welfare to the lack of television rights and the chaos around the organisation of local football.
I said something about our over-reliance on Nigerian footballers in the diaspora which was misreported in the media.
My point is that when you consistently rely on players developed and trained by other nations to play for you, then you have seriously failed in your important role of building the future stars
There are bigger issues that have long bedevilled the Nigerian game and until we fix them, we will just be moving in a circle.”
Amokachi managed Nigeria’s national team, the Super Eagles, as assistant coach to Shuaibu Amodu, and then as assistant to Stephen Keshi.