Reappointing Yusuf as home-based Eagles’ coach will encourage corruption, says Izilien

• ‘It’ll breed corrupt coaches everywhere’
Former coach of the Super Falcons and Golden Eaglets, Godwin Izilien, has warned the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on the implication of re-appointing Salisu Yusuf as head coach of the Home-based Eagles four years after FIFA punished him for allegedly soliciting bribe as handler of the same team.

On 24 July 2018, Yusuf was seen accepting a cash gift in a video released by BBC Africa following a series of investigations on the state of football in Africa.

Yusuf was said to have accepted bribe after two investigative reporters approached him to include two footballers in his squad to the 2018 African Championship (CHAN).

There were insinuations in some quarters, yesterday, that the NFF has concluded plans to re-appoint Yusuf as coach of the Home-based Eagles.

To Izilien, who led the Super Falcons to win the African Women Nations Cup title in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2004, such appointment such not come from the football house.

“If it is true, then the NFF would have destroyed our football completely,” Izilien told The Guardian yesterday. “What will be NFF’s message to other coaches, who are into corrupt practices? I just hope it is mere rumour. But if it comes to reality, the Amaju Pinnick-led NFF would have rubbished everything left in our football.

“For you to preach equity, you must come with clean hands. It will be a bad precedent for the NFF to re-appoint Salisu Yusuf as coach of the Home-based Eagles,” Izilien stated.