Nigeria dump plans for Peseiro, retain Eguavoen

Nigeria dump plans for Peseiro, retain Eguavoen
Augustine Eguavoen, coach of Nigeria

by Graeme Jackson

Tuesday Feb 08, 2022. 14:00

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has revealed that it will not be handing the reins of the senior men’s national team to Jose Peseiro, as was originally planned.


NFF president Amaju Pinnick announced on Monday that the Super Eagles coaching team has been fortified, with Augustine Eguavoen retaining his position as the interim technical adviser, while Emmanuel Amuneke has been appointed as his immediate assistant.


This move ends Peseiro’s chances of taking over, with the 61-year-old Portuguese originally named in December 2021 to replace Eguavoen once the Africa Cup of Nations was complete.


“The NFF Board has approved a recommendation of the Technical and Development Committee retaining Augustine Eguavoen as Technical Director/Technical Adviser (interim) while Emmanuel Amuneke becomes the Chief Coach of the Super Eagles,” said NFF General Secretary Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, as quoted by Leadership.


“Salisu Yusuf will be the 2nd Assistant Coach/Chief Coach of the CHAN team and Joseph Yobo will be 3rd Assistant while Aloysius Agu remains the Goalkeepers’ Trainer.”


Sanusi added: “We acknowledge and appreciate the interest that Mr Jose Peseiro has shown in Nigeria Football during our very cordial discussions and have absolutely no doubt about his capacity.


“We believe that perhaps in the future, there could be an opportunity to work with him. However, in view of the positive performance of the Super Eagles at the just-concluded Africa Cup of Nations which has given hope to Nigerians and boosted our confidence in the present coaching crew to qualify us for the World Cup in Qatar, we have decided to accept the recommendation of the Technical and Development Committee to retain the Eguavoen-led coaching crew and strengthen it with the addition of Emmanuel Amuneke.”


The immediate task ahead of Eguavoen and Amuneke will be securing qualification for the 2022 World Cup. Nigeria face a two-legged playoff against arch rivals Ghana next month, with the winners booking a spot at the tournament in Qatar.







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