Lambasts NFF for sacking Super Eagles assistant coaches Finidi George and Ike Shorunmu
Sam Okpodu
By Rasheed Adewuyi
Former Super Falcons coach, Sam Okpodu, has suggested that former sports men and women should be saddled with the responsibility of leading the state sports councils and football associations for the betterment of sports in Nigeria.
Okpodu made this statement during a chat with Sports Joust at his base in the United States of America (USA).
The former Nigeria international right winger also lambasted the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for relieving Super Eagles assistant coaches Finidi George and Ike Shorunmu of jobs recently.
Finidi George and Ike Shorunmu refused to report to the Super Eagles camp in Abuja when Nigeria played against the Wild Dogs of Guinea Bissau in the first leg of the Africa cup of nations qualifier double header because the NFF declined to formalize their contracts and did not pay their salaries since they were employed in May 2022.
Okpodu fumed at the way and manner both former Super Eagles players lost their jobs, adding that the situation was nothing but a big embarrassment to the country’s football.
” How can they embarrass Finidi and Ike like that? If you don’t want them, pay them off and let them go quietly. If we don’t confront the truth, we will remain where we are. We should stop disgracing our local coaches,” he said.
” The whole world is laughing at us because we value foreign coaches more than our local counterparts. I’ve never seen any Nigerian last five years with the National teams. The NFF can afford to pay foreign coaches huge salaries but no local coach has ever received fifty thousand dollars monthly salary before.
“Journalists are also part of the problem because they failed to criticize the admistrarors.”
The former Turks & Caicos Island national U-16 team manager added, ” it is very painful to see that the same people who are supposed to take care of Ike and Finidi are the ones maltreating them.”
On the Super Eagles versus Guinea Bissau match, Okpodu stated that the national team will not make any meaningful impact at the Africa cup of nations in Ivory Coast next year with their Colonial style of play.
“Our football will not grow if we continue to play the Colonial style of game I saw against Guinea Bissau. We need to respect our coaches , pay handsomely and give them the same opportunity as their foreign counterparts ”
