Nigeria can thrive without foreign manager, says Samson Siasia

Former Super Eagles head coach, Samson Siasia, believes that Nigeria’s senior men’s national football team can succeed without the need for a foreign manager.

This comes as the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is considering hiring a foreign coach ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Currently sitting fifth in their qualification group, the Super Eagles have accumulated just three points from four matches, with three draws and one loss.

Despite this, Siasia firmly rejects the idea of bringing in another foreign manager, stating, “We don’t want any foreign coach here because they are not coming to do anything. We have enough good materials at home that we should not be talking about hiring a foreign coach.”

Siasia also addressed the situation surrounding interim head coach Austine Eguavoen. While Eguavoen led the team to Africa Cup of Nations qualification, his status as manager remains uncertain.

Siasia believes Eguavoen should step down as coach to focus on his primary role as technical director of the NFF. “He should resign as Super Eagles manager and concentrate on his job,” said Siasia. “He cannot hold two positions at the same time. He should actually decide on which one to hold and leave the other.”

Siasia, who is a two-time Olympic medalist and 1994 Africa Cup of Nations winner, recently completed a five-year FIFA ban that was reduced from a lifetime sentence following a match-fixing allegation.