Sports
Nigerian Coaches Not Inferior To Foreign Counterparts – Association
The Secretary, Lagos State Football Coaches Association, Rasheed Suleiman, says indigenous coaches are not inferior and can compete favourably with their foreign counterparts.
Suleiman made the assertion in an interview with newsmen last Monday against the backdrop of a Coaching Clinic being organised by Yagazie Foundation, an NGO from October 13 to October 13 in Lagos with five coaches from Europe and the U.S. as instructors.
According to him, the only difference between indigenous coaches and their foreign counterparts has to do with facilities in the respective countries.
“At the Nigerian Institute of Sports, we have top class lecturers in coaching that can rank among the best in the world,’’ he said.
Suleiman added that many indigenous coaches like Fanny Amun, late Stephen Keshi and Late Yemi Tella had done well by winning World Cup at the age grade level and the Nations Cup.
Contributing, Nathaniel Olagunju, Sports Director, FC Bethel International, told NAN that Nigerian coaches only needed to brace up in terms of knowledge.
Olagunju noted that a Nigerian, Emmanuel Amunike, is the National Chief Coach of Tanzania, and there had other Nigerians who had coached other African countries.
He expressed optimism that Nigerian coaches would benefit immensely from the Coaching Clinic to be organised in Lagos by Yagazie Foundation, an NG) from October 13 to October 15, 2018.
Also, Chinedu Ezirim, the Chief Executive Officer of Yagazie Foundation, said that five foreign coaches had been invited from Denmark and the U.S. to help educate over 100 Nigerian coaches.
Emmanuel Udeogu, Chief Executive Officer, Dominion Hotspurs FC, urged the Federal Government to also give due recognition and assistance to club proprietors.
Udeogu lamented that club proprietors were not accorded due recognition by government.
“We are doing all we are doing because we have the passion. We are not forced to register clubs.
“If we are not there, the Football Associations, coaches and cannot organise football competitions at the grassroots.
“Nigerian coaches who are nurturing the boys and girls are winning trophies.
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor