The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Shaibu Amodu

  • Players’ agents bribed coaches for national team spots – Amokachie

    Players’ agents bribed coaches for national team spots – Amokachie

    Former Super Eagles captain, Daniel Amokachi, has said the practice of local coaches being bribed to invite players onto the country’s national teams is endemic.

    Despite none being found guilty of the accusation, there have long been suspicions it happens in Nigeria.

    “Agents always come to give money for their players to be invited to camp,” said Amokachi. “Does it have to be so?”

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has asked Amokachi to produce evidence to support his claims.

    The 43-year-old, who won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with the Eagles in 1994, said it is time people speak up about an issue that has long bedevilled the Nigerian game.

    “We know this thing has been going on for a while but we have to voice it,” the current manager of Finnish second tier side, JS Hercules, told BBC Sport.

    Amokachi also worked as assistant to former Super Eagles coaches – late Stephen Keshi (2011-15), late Shaibu Amodu (2008-10) and Austin Eguavoen (2005-2007).

    He said that all three used to complain about the practice.

    “Every time Amodu would tell me: ‘Can you listen to these useless agents that are calling me? They want to give me $10,000, $20,000 and $30,000 to bring their players in.”

    “But he’s a man of integrity and wouldn’t take it. I worked with Keshi and it was the same scenario. With Eguavoen, it was the same.

    “If these three names mentioned had not had integrity, definitely they would have fallen victim,” he added.

     

  • Amodu’s corpse arrives Okpella for burial

    Amodu’s corpse arrives Okpella for burial

    … Dad spoke about death – Amodu’s son

    It was a sorrowful scene at the Okpella residence of the late Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Shaibu Amodu, when his remains arrived the premises on Saturday afternoon for interment.

    Amodu died on Saturday morning in Benin City, Edo State.

    Residents wept as his corpse was brought in an ambulance at about 12:30pm from the Stella Obasanjo Hospital where it was initially deposited.

    His final resting place was being prepared at the time of filing this report.

    His younger brother, Yunusa, cried profusely when he spoke to journalists.

    Yunusa said he spoke to late Amodu and sympathized with him on the death of ex- Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi.

    He said, “He promised to come home today but he is no more today. He did not complain of any ill-health. He is a great man and a father to the family. I will miss everything about him.”

    The eldest son of the deceased, Abdul-Aziz, said his father stopped fasting three years ago due to health problems, adding he did not know why he (Amodu) decided to fast this year.

    He said it was somebody that informed him on the phone about his father’s death.

    He said, “They told me they didn’t know what happened or how he died. I spoke with him yesterday (Friday) because I was to go for my NYSC. He spoke briefly about death when I asked him about Stephen Keshi. He said Keshi has not been buried but that if he died, he would be buried immediately. He said all of us should be prepared.”

  • NFF picks Amodu, Salisu as Super Eagles interim managers

    NFF picks Amodu, Salisu as Super Eagles interim managers

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said on Wednesday that Shaibu Amodu, the Technical Director of the NFF, and Salisu Yusuf would take charge of the Super Eagles on interim basis.

     

    This was part of the decisions taken after Wednesday’s meeting of the NFF Technical Committee which took place at the federation’s secretariat.

     

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that the appointment would see the coaches lead the Eagles to the two international friendly matches against Mali and Luxembourg’s national teams on May 27 and June 1 respectively.

     

    Yusuf will take charge of the team, while Amodu will supervise, the meeting agreed.

     

    Imama Amapakabo, the coach of Rangers International FC of Enugu, and Kennedy Boboye, the coach of Abia Warriors FC of Umuahia, were appointed to assist, while Aloy Agu would remain the goalkeeper trainer.

     

    The match against Mali will take place at the Stade Robert Diochon in Rouen, France, while Luxembourg will host the Eagles in Luxembourg.

     

    Chris Green, Chairman, NFF Technical Committee, told NAN that the Super Falcons qualification and preparations for the 2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations (AWCN) and the Dream Team VI Olympics preparations were also discussed.

     

    Green, who failed to give further clarification on the meeting, said that he needed to get the permission of NFF President Amaju Pinnick to give full details of the meeting.

     

    “I have to get clearance; most likely, if you call me this evening after we have talked to ourselves, then I can release it.

     

    “It will not be right for me to release it without clearance; it is against our procedure.

     

    “What we do is for the board to see it first and then agrees or throws it away.

     

    “I will be speaking with Mr President, let him now coordinate his people and I will be able to release the outcome,’’ Green said.

  • Keshi bows to Amodu

    Keshi bows to Amodu

    • NFF insists Big Boss must report to the Okpella-born tactician
    • Eagles’ chief coach must apologise publicly
    • Coaching impasse almost resolved

    The head of technical matters in soccer, especially as it concerns all of Nigeria’s national teams is Shaibu Amodu, according to the contents of the Okpella-born tactician’s contractual agreement with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).

    SportingLife can reveal exclusively that Super Eagles’ chief coach-in-waiting, Stephen Keshi and other national teams’ coaches must report to Amodu on all technical matters, leaving the administrative issues to the eggheads in the different departments at the NFF.

    It was gathered further that the new Eagles chief coach-in-waiting has been told categorically by the NFF men that he must relate to Amodu as his boss, if he truly wants to keep the job on a permanent basis.

    And to buttress the fact that the new coach’s contract is almost tied up, Coach Keshi has been told categorically by the body’s first vice chairman, Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi, that he must apologise to the NFF boss, Melvin Amaju Pinnick, publicly and all the board members for calling the body’s chief a liar on an Abuja-based radio station.

    Keshi’s voice where he labelled Pinnick a liar was also played on Silverbird Television with Akinwunmi insisting that: “Keshi has been told he has the job, but first he must apologise for what was regarded as gross insubordination over time. That explains why he will sign a Code of Conduct.

    “The issue really is that Stephen Keshi as a coach is a short-term discussion, this means he can’t be there for a lengthy period, so we need to look at the issue of appointing a Nigerian coach in the long-term, how it affects the whole growth. So, I don’t think we should isolate the issue of Keshi to just the appointment as coach of the Super Eagles, like it was a quick fix.”

    The NFF dismissed the bogus apology done by someone who isn’t in its employ, insisting that the body has the tape recording of Keshi’s voice where he called Pinnick a liar.

    This revelation give the lie to the statement by a certain man that the media concocted the story claiming that Keshi called Pinnick a liar.