Governing Bodies
Peseiro dropped as NFF keeps faith in Eguavoen and Amuneke
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
The gamble to have Augustine Eguavoen to lead the Super Eagles to the just concluded Africa Cup of Nations seemed to have paid off as the man fondly called ‘Cerezo’ has been given further mandate to guide Nigeria into the World Cup.
He will be assisted in the two-match qualifiers next month by former national team-mate Emmanuel Amuneke.
Amuneke, an electrifying left winger was the first Nigerian to score two goals in a World Cup edition and the scorer of the goal that delivered the Atlanta ‘96 Olympic Games gold medal to Nigeria.
Both Eguavoen and Amuneke were pivotal to Nigeria’s first off-shore victory at the Africa Cup of Nations in 1994.
While Eguavoen was the on field captain before Stephen Keshi stepped out to receive the cup after the defeat of Zambia, Amuneke was the scorer of the two goals with which Nigeria won the trophy.
Both last played together for the Super Eagles in the 27 April 1997 World Cup qualifiers against Burkina Faso in Ouagadougou.
With the duo’s role, it would appear that the initial deal with Portugal’s Jose Peseiro may have been stalled.
In the media release by the NFF Communication Department, General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi was quoted to have remarked: “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 acid test for the reconstituted technical crew is getting cumulative positive results in next month’s two matches with Ghana.
Amuneke is not new to national assignments as he was an assistant to Manu Garba in the cup-winning Golden Eaglets at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in UAE before he led his own team to also win in 2015.
He was drafted to assist former team-mate in the Super Eagles, Samson Siasia to prosecute the two matches against Egypt in the failed bid for 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.
But on his own, he took Tanzania out of obscurity to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time 39 years.
In his second ‘missionary’ journey to the Super Eagles as coach, Amuneke has been designated as the Chief Coach while Salisu Yusuf will be the 2nd Assistant Coach and Chief Coach of the CHAN team.
Former skipper and first Nigerian player to hit 100 caps, Joseph Yobo will be third assistant.
Aloysius Agu remains the Goalkeepers’ Trainer.
NEW SUPER EAGLES COACHING CREW
- Augustine Eguavoen – Technical Director/Technical Adviser (interim)
- Emmanuel Amuneke – Chief Coach/1st Assistant
- Salisu Yusuf – 2nd Assistant/Chief Coach, CHAN
- Joseph Yobo – 3rd Assistant
- Aloysius Agu – Goalkeepers’ Trainer
FIFA has sanctioned two lower division clubs in Kenya and Vietnam for match manipulation, relegating them to the third tier, world soccer’s governing body said on Friday.
FIFA’s Disciplinary Committee found Kenyan side Muhoroni Youth guilty of “activities related to the manipulation of football matches and competitions”, expelling the club from the second-tier National Super League.
“The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has further ordered the relegation of the Muhoroni Youth senior team to the Football Kenya Federation Division One League (third tier) ahead of next season,” FIFA said.
Vietnamese club Phu Tho was also found guilty of match manipulation. The club’s senior team was expelled from the Vietnamese Football League Second Division and relegated to the third division.
FIFA said the clubs had been notified and can appeal the decision.
-Reuters
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The president of the Confédération of African Football, Dr. Patrice Motsepe, has announced five new CAF Vice Presidents. They are:
- CAF First Vice President: Mr Fouzi Lekjaa (Morocco)
- CAF Second Vice President: Mr Kurt Okraku (Ghana)
- CAF Third Vice President: Mr Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
- CAF Fourth Vice President: Ms Bestine Kazadi Ditabala (Democratic Republic of Congo)
- CAF Fifth Vice President: Mr Feizal Sidat (Mozambique)
In addition, the CAF President has co-opted Yacine Idriss Diallo, President of Fédération Ivoirienne de football, into the CAF Executive Committee.
The CAF Executive Committee also approved the names to fill vacant positions on several CAF Committees.
Organising Committee for the African Nations Championship (CHAN)
- President: Pierre-Alain Mounguengui (Gabon)
CAF Technical and Development Committee
- President: Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon)
- Vice President: Malouche Belhassen (Tunisia)
CAF Medical Committee:
- President: Dr. Mohammed Bouya (Mauritania)
- Vice President: Dr. Thulani Ngwenya (South Africa)
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Governing Bodies
Nigeria becoming an epicentre of global badminton as Francis Orbih enters the Badminton World Federation Council
Laurels on the courts and now glory in the boardroom sums up the mark that badminton is making in Nigeria.
The President, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN), Francis Orbih, has been elected as a council member of the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
The election took place during the BWF Annual General Meeting on Saturday in Xiamen, China.
Orbih emerged victorious over top contenders from other African countries.
He will join Cameroon’s Odette Assembe Engoulou on the council, while Chipo Zumburani (Zimbabwe) and Hadia ElSaid (Egypt) missed out.
An elated Orbih expressed his gratitude to fellow badminton presidents across the globe for their trust and support.
He said, “I am deeply honoured by the trust placed in me by my peers across the badminton world.
“I look forward to quality representation, driving development initiatives, and strengthening badminton’s global reach over the next four years.”
Orbih also acknowledged the support of the Federal Government of Nigeria, particularly the National Sports Commission (NSC), which he said played a significant role in his successful bid.
“The Chairman and the Director General of the NSC monitored the entire process. I’m grateful for their involvement and confident Nigeria will benefit from this,” he stated.
He further appreciated the BFN board members and the Nigerian badminton community for their prayers and continued belief in his leadership.
“From the day I declared my intentions, the board members of BFN have been supportive, and I promise not to disappoint them,” Orbih concluded.
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