Assurances have been given by the Minister of Sports, Senator John Enoh, that the senior men’s national team, known as the Super Eagles, will see the arrival of a new coach in the upcoming one to two weeks.
Serving as an interim coach, Finidi George has been managing the team while the Nigeria Football Federation searches for a permanent replacement for Jose Peseiro, whose contract concluded at the end of February.
“Regrettably, the senior national team is currently without a coach. We had Finidi George oversee two friendlies,” said Enoh in an appearance on Channels TV’s Sports Tonight on Thursday.
“Responsibility for appointing a new coach rests with the NFF. I have been in communication with them because it was unexpected for Nigerians to still not have a coach after the AFCON and the expiration of coach Peseiro’s contract without renewal,” he added.
“The NFF is well aware that our next qualifiers are in June. I can confidently say that the senior national team will have a new coach within the next one to two weeks at the most.”
The Eagles will be gearing up to recover from disappointing draws against Lesotho and Zimbabwe in the World Cup qualifiers when they face South Africa in June.
Emphasizing the need to avoid missing out on another World Cup after the 2022 setback, the minister highlighted the urgency of the situation.
“We have not had the best start, and there is a lot of ground to make up for considering our absence in the last World Cup. We absolutely cannot afford to miss the next one,” Enoh expressed.
“Given the recent AFCON and our overall positive performance, there are expectations for us to build on that and move forward,” he continued.