Joel Ajayi
President of the Nigeria Football Federation ,NFF, Ibrahim Musa Gusau, has expressed satisfaction with the Super Eagles’ performance at the recently concluded Unity Cup in London, describing it as a vital step toward rebuilding a formidable national team under new head coach, Eric Chelle.
Speaking on the sidelines of the tournament, Gusau stated that the event had achieved its core objective giving the newly appointed coach a chance to assess fresh talent and begin shaping the future of the national team.
“First of all, that’s the essence of this type of tournament”, Gusau said. “It took us some months to put this together, and it was aimed at giving the coach the opportunity to see some new players. As you know, he was appointed less than a month before the World Cup qualifiers, so he didn’t have many options but to work with the players he met on the ground”.
The Unity Cup, which featured four teams, playing two matches each in London, allowed Coach Chelle to test new players and tactics. According to the NFF President, the matches provided a clearer picture of the potential within the squad.
“With what we saw in these two matches, we are happy and excited. We saw hope”, Gusau remarked. “I believe every football-loving Nigerian saw what happened in London. It gave us a glimpse of the hard work the coach is putting in to build a Super Eagles team we can rely on”.
He assured that the NFF will continue to provide full support to the coach, emphasizing the importance of patience and sustained development.
“By the grace of God, we’ll give him all the support he needs to achieve his goals. The key thing is that we’ve achieved the main purpose of participating in this kind of tournament”.
Gusau also confirmed that the Super Eagles will proceed to Russia for another Grade A international friendly, which he says will offer further insights into the emerging players.
“As I said earlier, we are excited. We’ll do everything necessary to support the coach and ensure he builds a team we can have full confidence in”, he concluded. “With this foundation, we have hope and God will see us through”.
