Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh has rallied the support of critical stakeholders and Nigerians for Finidi George, the newly appointed coach of the senior national football team, the Super Eagles.
Speaking at the unveiling of the new head coach of the Super Eagles on Monday inside the media center of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, Senator Enoh, who observed that the appointment of Finidi George as the national team coach was well received by Nigerians, expressed his confidence in his ability to take the Super Eagles to a new height.
For this to happen, he stated that the new coach requires the support of all Nigerians for him to succeed. According to the minister, with his appointment, Finidi George has the responsibility to bring back the liveliness and excitement of Nigerian football.
The Minister stated that the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s started with so much support for Nigerian football, adding that we can’t afford to let him down.
Earlier in his remarks, the President of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), Dr. Ibrahim Muza Gusau, stated that the appointment of Finidi George signaled a new dawn in the history of Nigerian football because his appointment was in line with the clamor of Nigerians for the appointment of an indigenous coach to handle the Super Eagles.
He explained that it was in deference to this yearning that the federation directed the technical team saddled with the responsibility of picking the coach to look inward and choose an indigenous coach for the national team. Now that the choice of the coach has been made, he has called on all Nigerians to support him in his new role, especially with the World Cup and AFCON qualifiers in sight.
He assured that, as a policy, the NFF gave Finidi George the free hand to choose his technical staff, stressing that the assistants will be paid on a game-by-game basis to avoid crises in the payment of their allowances that had bedeviled the process in the past. He also assured them that they would be entitled to bonuses and entitlements enjoyed by players and coaches.
In his response, Finidi George thanked NFF and Nigerians for his appointment, and he promised to put in his best effort to lift Nigerian football to the next level.
Former Nigerian internationals Daniel Amokachi (assistant coach), Olatunji Baruwa (goalkeeper trainer), Chima Onyeka (fitness trainer), and Benjamin James were also unveiled as members of the technical team.
Packaged by Lanre Olabisi
