NFF secures $1.5m for foreign coach’s salary

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is now banking on a $1.5 million lifeline from a sponsor to cover the salaries of a new foreign coach for the country, reports africanfootball.com.

The cash is expected this week and if it came through, the NFF could appoint a new coach as early as next week, the report said.

The NFF is broke and the sports ministry has made it clear the government will not help out with paying for an expatriate coach.

The NFF is known to have sounded out a bank and an oil company to pay for the new coach, who will lead Nigeria through a difficult 2018 World Cup qualifying group that has Algeria, Cameroon and Zambia.

It will be recalled that a major telephone company bankrolled the salaries of German coach Berti Vogts between 2007 and 2008, while a presidential task force was responsible for the salaries of the country’s last foreign coach, Lars Lagerback, for the 2010 World Cup.

Meanwhile, caretaker coach, Salisu Yusuf and frontrunner, Paul Le Guen, are among the 20 coaches that have applied to lead the Super Eagles in the 2018 World Cup qualifying tournament.

NFF technical committee chairman, Chris Green, disclosed that as many as 20 coaches have applied for the Eagles post vacated by Sunday Oliseh in February.

Former Cameroun coach, Le Guen, was previously reported not to have applied for the position, but officials have now confirmed he has done so.

Serbian Goran ‘Plavi’ Stevanovic, who posted a superb run with Ghana between 2011 and 2012, is also in the running.

Former Kano Pillars’ Slovenian coach, Ivo Sajh, has also thrown his hat in the ring. He led Pillars to a historic CAF Champions League semi-final in 2009.

Tomorrow is deadline for submission of applications, with NFF billed to announce a short list of candidates on Friday after a technical committee meeting.