By David Kabiyesi
Erstwhile Super Eagles manager, Festus Onigbinde has accused football administrators of raking in millions from hiring foreign coaches.
According to him, Nigerian football is currently in the doldrums because most administrators are more concerned with lining their pockets with hard currency rather than developing the game.
He stressed that most administrators get kickbacks from football agents who recommend foreign coaches to them.
“When a foreign manager is hired, the NFF pays him more than what they pay to his local counterparts. That is why agents and football administrators prefer going for foreign coaches because they will get more kickback from the coach’s big salary. They can’t get much when a home-based coach is hired.
“That is one of the problems of Nigerian football. The other problem is lack of a developmentaprogramme that focuses on local coaches’ certification on the current norms of approach to the game.
“There are so many coaches in Nigeria that are not good enough to handle national teams because of their poor knowledge of the game.
“I have been been clamoringng for a well-tailored football development program to guide Nigerian football. A situation where agents and administrators also get a kickback from players to join the national team does not help our football growth.
“I am 85 years old now and I don’t think I need any job from NFF… all I do is to keep speaking based on my vast experience in the game,” he said.
