Nigeria Federation gives fans power to decide coach’s future

Nigeria coach Jose Peseiro’s future is in the hands of the fans as the football federation (NFF) has given them the power to decide the fate of the Portuguese.

Peseiro replaced coach Augustine Eguavoen last year after Nigeria failed to qualify for Qatar’s 2022 FIFA World Cup.

And with Peseiro at the helm, Nigeria booked a place in the Africa Cup of Nations finals set to be staged in Ivory Coast starting in January. However, the coach’s contract with Nigeria ends on June 30.

The well-travelled coach has had stints at various clubs including Real Madrid as an assistant coach. He also coached in his home country, Portugal at Sporting Lisbon and FC Porto.

Peseiro’s career also saw him manage teams in Saudi Arabia and clubs such as Egyptian giants, Al Ahly, Panathinaikos and Rapid Bucharest. And before joining Nigeria, he was the national team coach of Venezuela. He parted ways with the team due to unpaid dues for a year.

FANS TO DECIDE PESEIRO’S FUTURE AS NIGERIA COACH

Despite his vast experience and achieving the set mandate of qualifying for the AFCON finals, Peseiro’s future is bleak with a national debate on whether the coach should remain in charge.

NFF president Ibrahim Gusau said it will be up to the fans. “We have the plan to push the votes to Nigerians to hear their views and thoughts,” said Gusau on the LovingFootball radio show.

“We’ve tried the foreign coaches and also the local coaches. Maybe we didn’t get it right in the area of getting the right person.

“We are going to push it to the public, whether we should continue with Peseiro or he should go.”

Although Nigeria qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations, results have been inconsistent under Peseiro, despite having access to a pool of players who play in Europe’s top leagues.

Nigeria have won four games while losing five since failing to seal a place in the Qatar World Cup with Peseiro at the wheel.

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