According to a report from The PUNCH, former coach of the Super Falcons Ismaila Mabo expressed her disagreement with the Nigeria Football Federation's decision to hire Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro as the head coach of the Super Eagles. Mabo stated that a Nigerian, Ndubuisi Egbo, would have been the ideal candidate for the position instead.
The National Football Federation (NFF) made the announcement on Sunday that the former manager of Sporting Lisbon will take over as the next head coach of the men's national team effective immediately.
Edema Fuludu, who won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1994, and John Fashanu, a former England player of Nigerian descent, were the first to question the credentials of the 62-year-old coach after the engagement of the Portuguese. The engagement of the Portuguese has not gone over well with some of the stakeholders.
The 77-year-old Mabo, who is widely regarded as the most successful Nigerian coach in women's football, led the Falcons to the quarterfinals of the 1999 Women's World Cup and the 2004 Olympics Games. He stated that he would have preferred the appointment of former Albania KF Tirana coach Egbo over Peseiro. Peseiro is currently the head coach of the Falcons.
According to statements made by Mabo to The PUNCH, "I've never been a proponent of bringing foreign coaches to handle our national teams."
"I don't like a situation in which the federation will bring a coach and tell them who to play, as we saw at the last tournament in Cameroon, where we got knocked out in the Round of 16 despite our impressive performance in the group stage. I don't like a situation in which the federation will bring a coach and tell them who to play.
"I am in favour of employing the indigenous coach, but not those other coaches over whom they will have such a strong influence. Even if they wish to import a coach from another country, they can still bring one of our domestic coaches who is already thriving in another country. Someone like Ndubuisi Egbo, for example, would have been an excellent pick to manage the national team had that role been available.