Adegboye Onigbinde, a former Chief Coach of the Nigerian national football team, has accused the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) of prioritizing financial gains over the country’s footballing aspirations by hiring foreign coaches instead of local trainers. Onigbinde, who coached the Super Eagles in 1984 and 2002, believes that Nigerian football is in decline due to the personal interests of administrators, and called for a developmental roadmap to be implemented, which would include the recruitment and training of coaches and players.
Onigbinde claimed that agents and administrators earn more money from foreign coaches’ salaries, which discourages the hiring of local coaches, and also criticized the lack of a footballing developmental programme in Nigeria. The former coach suggested that a system that eliminates agents and administrators from the hiring process and discourages kickbacks could pave the way for high-standard coaches to be employed. Onigbinde also noted that Nigeria had a good grassroots programme in the past, which helped produce quality players, leading to a silver medal at the 1984 African Cup of Nations.
