TheCable

Solomon Dalung, minister for youth and sports, on Thursday said he was yet to give his consent for the recruitment of a foreign coach for the Super Eagles.

The minister, who was speaking against the backdrop of reports that the ministry had endorsed the recruitment of a foreign coach, said the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) was yet to convince him to see the need to hire a foreign coach for the team.

“I have never given an approval for the recruitment of a foreign coach,” he told reporters in Lagos.

“I have been approached by the federation for the recruitment of the foreign coach, and I said `convince me as to why a foreign coach is the best’, and they said, `well, we have not received a technical report of the match that we played and crashed out’.

“So, they will give me that report alongside convincing reason for a foreign coach.

“Then I said well in doing that also try to answer this question: `why is it not possible to pay Nigerian coaches salaries, but it will be possible for us to recruit a foreign coach and pay?’ And they said `somebody has declared interest’.

“And I put the second question: `can you also ask that same person why he is he not interested in giving us money to pay Nigeria coaches and see how they will fair than going to recruit foreign coaches’.

“So, if I am understood to have endorsed a foreign coach, I think it’s a misconception.

“I haven’t endorsed a foreign coach, but I am still demanding a convincing reason I should believe in a foreign coach.”