Minister for Youth and Sports Solomon Dalung has the Nigerian Football Federation has secured a sponsor who will pay a foreign coach when hired. The NFF announced on Wednesday Amodu Shaibu and Salisu Yusuff to handle the senior team towards two international friendlies scheduled for June, noting that, it will hire a foreign coach on a permanent basis.
But Dalung said he is yet to give his consent for the recruitment of the foreign coach.
Dalung stated this while speaking with newsmen in Lagos. The minister, who was speaking against the backdrop of reports that the ministry had endorsed the recruitment of a foreign coach, said the Nigeria Football Federation was yet to convince him to see the need to hire a foreign coach for the team.
“I have never given an approval for the recruitment of a foreign coach. I have been approached by the federation for the recruitment of the foreign coach, and I said `convince me as to why a foreign coach is the best’, and they said, `well we have not received a technical report of the match that we played and crashed out’.
“So, they will give me that report alongside convincing reason for a foreign coach.
“Then I said well in doing that also try to answer this question: ‘why is it not possible to pay Nigerian coaches salaries, but it will be possible for us to recruit a foreign coach and pay’ and they said `somebody has declared interest’.
“And I put the second question: `can you also ask that same person why he is he not interested in giving us money to pay Nigerian coaches and see how they will fare than going to recruit foreign coaches”.
“So, if I am understood to have endorsed a foreign coach, I think it’s a misconception.
“I haven’t endorsed a foreign coach, but I am still demanding a convincing reason I should believe in a foreign coach.”
