African Nations – Foreign Coach v. Local Coach
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A few weeks ago, ex Nigerian international Finidi George was announced as the new coach of the Nigerian national football team – the Super Eagles ๐ฆ , after fighting off some really fierce competition from both local and foreign coaches. A huge congratulations to him first and foremost ๐๐ฝ๐ฅณ๐๐พ.
His appointment has reignited the debate in the Nigerian football space around whether African nations should use foreign head coaches for their national teams or empower local (or indigenous) coaches more ๐ค.
We saw Senegal ๐ธ๐ณ and Ivory Coast ๐จ๐ฎ win the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament with local coaches, Aliou Cisse and Emerse Fae respectively. Also, our nemesis Ghana ๐ฌ๐ญ has just reappointed Otto Addo to lead the Black Stars, after an extremely disappointing outing at the last AFCON ๐คญ๐ซฃ. Iโm still not sure why he wasnโt the coach to lead the Black Stars to the last edition of AFCON ๐คท๐ฝโโ๏ธ.
Anyway, in as much as I am a proponent of training and up-skilling local coaches, I am also in support of hiring competent and professional individuals who are capable of doing the job. If that happens to be a local coach, then all good ๐๐ฝ. I certainly believe that Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) and African MAs can do a lot more to encourage and empower the local coaches, having spoken to a few of them who are disappointed with whatโs currently on offer. But thatโs a discussion for another dayโฆ..
Itโs been really interesting listening to the diverse perspectives and opinions from football players, fans, sports journalists and administrators on the appointment of Finidi. Some sceptics believe a local coach has been appointed because heโd be easier to manipulate and owe salaries ๐คฆ๐ฝโโ๏ธ. Whereas those in support of his appointment believe heโs the perfect man for the job and should be given a chance. One of many concerns has been whether he is strong enough to get us a ticket to the World Cup ๐. I actually thought Jose Pesiero would have stayed for that, but heyโฆ
The debates and anticipation actually make it more exciting and I canโt wait to see how he gets on. Iโm looking forward to seeing whether he scouts for players in the local leagues, considering he played in the local league. Iโm also wondering how much freedom heโll be given to make decisions and whether heโd be able to command the respect of the players, especially those earning big salaries abroad.
What are your thoughts ? Do you feel Finidi is the man to lead Nigeria to the World Cup final? (Or should I start with qualifying for the World Cup ๐)โฆ Having missed out on the last one, missing another would be disastrous ๐ฉ, and I donโt think I can bear anymore taunts from our Gold Coast neighbours ๐คจ.
Very exciting times ahead indeed.. I wish Finidi all the best ๐๐ฝโฝ๏ธ
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