The three-time African champions have been without a coach since the resignation of Finidi George after taking charge of just two World Cup qualifiers.
Ahead of the appointment of a new coach, there has been speculation about the possibility of hiring a foreign coach, with names such as former France women’s national team coach Hervé Renard and Mali national team coach Éric Chelle mentioned.
Hervé Renard during the 2018 FIFA World Cup. (Photo by Simon Hofmann – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
Speaking on Brila FM’s “No-Holds-Barred” show with Ifeanyi Udeze, the former Shakhtar Donetsk striker questioned the logic behind hiring a foreign coach when management was struggling to meet financial demands.
“The coach (Hervé Renard) is a very good coach, he has experience. When it comes to African football and even world football, we have to be realistic. Can we afford to pay him?”
“Even when the former coach was managing the team and earning between $50,000 and $70,000, we found it difficult to pay him. We owed him money for months and now we are talking about almost double that amount. Where are we going to get the money from?” Aghahowa asked.
Nigeria’s coach, José Peseiro.
Aghahowa, who has played 32 times for the Super Eagles and scored 14 goals, suggested that the team management should look inwards and focus on local talent, players and coaches.
“Why don’t we look inwards and build a team for the future, forgetting about short-term results? I have always advocated the inclusion of local players in the national team. Because when you are a Nigerian player coming up and you play there, you know the suffering and the hardship, so you have that dedication more than any player coming from outside and the dedication to serve the country.”
Julius Aghahowa. Credit: DarrinBraybrook/Allsport
Aghahowa also stressed the importance of giving local coaches the opportunity to lead the team, stating: “Also as far as coaches are concerned, I advocate that our local coaches should be given the opportunity to coach this team in the long term.”
He added: “The way we think is the reason why we get the results we get. If we want to give this to our local coach, we have our colleagues who have been coaching for some time, we know them, we give them this job and we pay them well.
Nigeria coach Finidi George. (Photo by ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP via Getty Images)
“We may not pay them as much as the white coaches, but we pay them well, we give them enough time to build the team and I have confidence in the local coaches.”
The Super Eagles will face Benin Republic on September 7 at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in their opening 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
