By Uzor Odigbo
Former Green Eagles coach and a member FIFA technical committee, Chief Adegboye Onigbinde, has finally nailed Nigerian football, declares it dead in the Country.
Chief Onigbinde made this statement while as a guest of BCOS TV. He said that the state of football in Nigeria was responsible for the domination of the nation’s national teams by foreign based footballers.
Onigbinde reiterated his assertion that Nigeria had no development structure to groom footballers.
“Nigerian football is dead and this is why our national teams depend heavily on foreign based players. Sadly we have no development programmes to groom footballers”, Chief Onigbinde said.
Speaking further, the octogenarian noted with regrets there is no single professional football club in Nigeria.
“Going by FIFA’s statutes which stipulate that professional football teams should be run by elected boards, we don’t have a single professional football club in Nigeria. All we have are government parastatals because our football clubs are run by governments who should have no business in sports administration”, the two time Super Eagles Manager stated.
The Modakeke born soccer tactician since in 1974, averred that the most outstanding achievement of his career is his record as the first indigenous coach to handle Nigeria’s senior national football team, a feat he achieved between 1983 and 1984, when he coached and led the then Green Eagles to the final of 1984 Africa Nations’ Cup in Ivory Coast.
The former CAF Technical Committees member, said the improper and unprofessional ways football clubs are run in Nigeria is the reason why the round leather game is dying in the country
