23rd August, 2021
By Igbaugba Ehigimetor
Godwin Izilein, a former coach of the Super Falcons, on Monday lambasted the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for what he described as its shabby treatment of indigenous coaches.
The coach accused the NFF of always giving preferential treatment to foreign coaches, especially in the area of welfare.
Izilein said the perceived double standard had negatively impacted the morale of indigenous coaches.
“Indigenous coaches can change the narratives of the national teams, and it is high time they are accorded their deserved respect like their foreign counterparts,” he said.
According to him, the “deliberate refusal” by NFF to pay coaches their earned allowances in arrears was a worrisome development.
“It is regrettable that 17 years after leading the Super Falcons to Johannesburg in South Africa in 2004 to win the African Women Championship (AWC), the NFF is yet to pay to me match bonuses amounting to 28,750 dollars (about N10 million),” he said.
“It is as a result of this that I have forbidden the NFF from mourning me whenever I die.
“The only honour I want from the NFF is to pay me what it owns me, not when I am dead.
“I cannot recall any foreign coach who has so worked for the country as a handler of the national team who has been treated so shabbily.
NAN