Sports Minister, Dare Wants Amuneke Appointed As Eagles Coach

Minister of Sports Sunday Dare is pushing for the appointment of Emmanuel Amuneke as the next manager of the Super Eagles, Saturday Telegraph has learnt.

However, the proposal of the minister has been met by strong resistance from the Nigeria Football Federation who want another foreign tactician take over from the embattled Gernot Rohr.

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A source close to the minister, reliably told Saturday Telegraph that the minister had spoken to the NFF President Amaju Pinnick on the need to allow an indigenous coach to manage the team instead of spending scarce resources on an expatriate that may not do a better job. The source said the minister is very keen on having an input in the emergence of a new manager saying since the said coach is going to work for the country his office and the NFF must work together on the appointment of a new helmsman.

The minister, the source said, is not impressed by the performance of Rohr and he is on the same page with the NFF to have the German sacked, “and he has already handed down the directives from the presidency to the federation that the coach must be sacked immediately.” “The minister has already told them that indigenous coaches should also be considered for the post and has also revealed to them his preference which is Amuneke but the NFF has also pleaded with the minister to trust them with the process. “The minister has always shown a strong belief in the capacity of ex-internationals and he has tried to incorporate them into his plans.

He is particularly impressed with the progress Amuneke has made as a coach, and not many people knew that he was actually sounded out for the Super Falcons job after the erstwhile Manager Thomas Dennerby abandoned the team last year. The minister personally spoke with the former Golden Eaglets coach if he would be willing to take up the national women side but the former Zamalek of Egypt star politely turned down the offer, saying he would prefer to manage only a male side not female.” The former African Footballer of the Year won the FIFA U-17 World Cup with the 2015 set of the Golden Eaglets. He also qualified Tanzania for their first Nations Cup in more than two decades.

Meanwhile, another source in the NFF reliably told our correspondent that Pinnick has a list of five foreign coaches his federation has approached and an announcement is likely going to be made on the sacking of Rohr and the appointment of a new manager next week.

“Every day, Pinnick keeps getting new coaches introduced to him but the federation has spoken to five of them and if everything goes as planned a new manager will be appointed next week,” he said. Meanwhile, our correspondent also gathered that decision to sack Rohr could be delayed until after the African Cup of Nations if the federation failed to get the money to clear Rohr’s severance pay. “Rohr has agreed in principle to leave but it is the mode of payment of his salary arrears and severance package that is still delaying the announcement.

Up till now, the NFF is yet to raise the funds that will enable them to sack the coach and has also rejected the proposal to have his pay deducted straight from the FIFA grants. As it stands, the coach could be allowed to stay on the job until after AFCON because of the shortage of time between now and the start of the competition,” a top official of the federation told our correspondent on condition of anonymity.