LAGOS – Nigeria’s National Football Coaches are not on the payroll of the country’s Federation, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, dropped the shocker on Thursday.
Speaking with a select Sports Editors in Lagos, the Minister wondered how the leadership of the Nigeria Football Federation expected the coaches to concentrate on National assignments when they are being owed up to five months salaries.
Dalung said there is need for a radical reform of Nigerian football if NFF depends solely on what it gets from sponsors to pay the coaches.
According to the Minister, he got to know about this after Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2017 African Cup of Nations.
Dalung explained that the return leg of the two legged qualifier against the Pharaohs of Egypt in Alexandria, the NFF put pressure on him to approve the disbursement of N480 million for the payment of allowances and salaries of the team.
Dalung said after he gave the approval based on the assumption that the coaches and players would be paid, he was however shocked to learn that the team’s coach, Samson Siasia, was not paid, while the players got their allowances.
According to him, he then asked for know how much the NFF had in the account and what it is to be used for.
The Minister said he was shocked to hear that out of the N90 million the NFF had in its account, N27 million was going into the painting of a building of the Federation.
He said he cancelled the item for painting and turned it into payment of coaches salaries.
It was then he was told that the coaches are not the responsibility of the NFF.
The coaches are paid from money provided by sponsors.
Dalung said what that means is that if no sponsor brings money, then the coaches will go hungry with salary.
Coach owed five months salary? Can he see the players correctly?”
“In all, I believe there is a need for radical reforms of Nigerian football in order to avoid further embarrassment in the nearest future.
“Nigerian football is caught between devils with horns and blue sea and it deserves to be delivered,” he told the Sports Editors.
