Fans to vote on the fate of Nigeria national football coach Jose Peseiro
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Jose Peseiro’s one-year contract runs out on June 30.
PHOTO: REUTERS
ABUJA – Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) president Ibrahim Gusau says fans will decide the future of Portuguese Jose Peseiro as the country’s coach.
His one-year contract runs out on June 30.
Gusau said the NFF would organise a special poll for supporters to decide if the 63-year-old Peseiro, who has won four and lost five matches in charge of the Super Eagles, stays or goes.
“We have the plan to push the votes to Nigerians to hear their views and thoughts,” Gusau told a Nigerian radio show on Saturday.
“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.”
The poll to be conducted via telephone will generate much-needed funds for the NFF, who are facing a financial crisis that has meant they owe the Super Eagles coach several months’ pay. Peseiro is on a monthly salary of US$70,000 (S$94,700).
He has helped Nigeria qualify for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, following a 3-2 win away against Sierra Leone this month.
His team selections have been questioned while the three-time African champions still rely heavily on the individual brilliance of Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chukwueze. He has also lost more matches than he has won.
Former international Kadiri Ikhana, who led Enyimba to win the 2003 CAF Champions League, said Peseiro has not made any impact on Nigeria in the past year.
“The credit for Nations Cup qualification should go to the players, not the coach,” he said. “A Nigerian should be in charge of the team.”
Another ex-international, Victor Ezeji, argued that Peseiro should be allowed to lead the team to the Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast in January, after which his fate should be decided.
“The man should be given a short-term contract after he qualified us for the Afcon,” he said. “Let him lead us to the Afcon and then we decide his future after that.” AFP
