NFF to set up special panel for new Eagles coach

A special panel will now be set up to shortlist and interview the next Super Eagles coach,

AfricanFootball.com has scooped.

This was one of the decisions taken at a special meeting in Lagos chaired by the president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mr Amaju Pinnick and attended by vice-presidents, Seyi Akinwunmi and Shehu Dikko as well as technical committee chieftains, Chris Green and Ahmed Yusuf .

Top NFF officials including Pinnick have promised to announce a new coach in the new week.

It is believed that several notable expatriate coaches have formally applied to succeed Sunday Oliseh, who quit the post in February.

Nigeria is drawn in what many described as ‘the group of death’ in the qualifying tournament for the 2018 World Cup along with Algeria, Cameroon and Zambia.

The Super Eagles begin their qualifying campaign on October 3 in Zambia.

Meanwhile, one-time member of the NFF technical committee, John Mastoroudes, has tasked the football authorities to make the right choice as regards a foreign coach for the country.

Mastoroudes, who became a household name in the 80s when the star-studded Leventis United bestrode the Nigerian domestic football scene, said the NFF must hire a world-class coach, who the players will respect.

“The NFF hiring a foreign coach depends on what the blueprint is and what we want to achieve going forward,” he said.

“If you ask me, we have good local coaches in Nigeria and there are equally good foreign coaches in Europe.”