‘FCAAN training to put local coaches at par with foreign counterparts’

Nigerian coaches have the potential to be among the world’s best, but some of them lack the necessary training to bring out the best in them, president of the Football Coaches Association of African Nations (FCAAN), Dr Terry Eguaoje, has said.

Eguaoje, a United States-based college professor and coaching instructor, who helped Nigeria to a credible finish at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia/New Zealand last year, said yesterday in Lagos that the country has some of the most intelligent coaches in the world, adding, however, that most of them lack the required training to rank among the very best.

This, he said, is what FCAAN has been trying to correct in concert with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

“We have been training coaches in the United States for over 20 years and decided to come to Africa when we discovered that nobody was doing it right here.

“We should be tired of seeing foreign coaches coming here to take jobs that should be handled by indigenes of this continent.

“We decided to set our headquarters in Nigeria because charity begins at home. We have coaching centres in East Africa, Canada and the United States. We are also in partnership with one of the best universities in coaches’ education, Baker University in the U.S.”

Eguaoje, who disclosed that FCAAN’s curriculum is the same as the UEFA and CAF modules, said the difference is that FCAAN does more practical training than the others, adding that at FCAAN, coaches’ training doesn’t end with their certification.

Also, at the meeting with the media was FCAAN CEO, Danny Nazzal, who said the association came to Nigeria to revolutionise coaches’ education.

“We want to equip coaches such that they can confidently take on any task and discharge it successfully.

“We are tired of seeing half-baked foreign coaches coming to the continent to take jobs from our people because of the colour of their skin.

“A good coach doesn’t necessarily have to be a former footballer; the talent is different and learning the job properly helps to equip the coach properly,” he said.