Dare Charges Peseiro to Blend Eagles with Home-based Players
Dare Charges Peseiro to Blend Eagles with Home-based Players
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Chief Sunday Dare, yesterday charged the new Head Coach of Super Eagles, José Santos Peseiro, to make the squad a blend of the very best of professional players based at home and abroad.
Dare insisted that the Ministry will assist in the rebuilding process by providing a conducive environment for the Portuguese to use his best efforts and endeavor to restore the confidence of football-loving Nigerians and the Government in the team.
At a brief but colourful ceremony in Abuja, where the NFF formally presented Peseiro to the Government of Nigeria through the Sports Ministry, Dare told the gaffer in no uncertain terms that Nigerians want their National Teams to win every game, even though this is an impossibility in sport.
“Whenever the team does not win, it must be clearly seen to have demonstrated high-level commitment, fervor, consistency and discipline on and off the pitch.
The Minister then told Peseiro to ensure a solid win for the Super Eagles against the Leone Stars of Sierra Leone in Abuja today in a Match-day 1 encounter of the qualification series for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations finals to be hosted by Côte d’Ivoire.
Earlier, NFF 2nd Vice President Shehu Dikko, who stood in for President of the NFF, Amaju Melvin Pinnick, thanked the Minister and the Sports Ministry for support and guidance during the process that produced the Coach.
Peseiro, on his part, thanked the Government and people of Nigeria for the opportunity to tinker the Super Eagles, and said he is fully committed to the objective of winning the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire next year summer.
“I have always loved the Nigeria team, ever since I watched them play at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States. It is a team with solid pedigree. Presently, we have both quality and quantity of players and it is always a good situation for any team.”
