LAGOS – An ex-international footballer, Taribo West, Monday urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to look beyond the failure of Super Eagles to qualify for AFCON 2015 and forge ahead with concrete plans.
West told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday that the federation should carry along all national teams in 2015.
“It is sad that we, the defending champions, will not be in Equatorial Guinea to defend our title; the football world is disappointed, Africa is disappointed and Nigerians are disappointed.
“It should be a lesson for the NFF to have a family where only those with knowledge of football administration will be made to run football.
`The NFF should take note that Nigeria football is not only for the Super Eagles but also the U-17, the U- 20 and the U- 23 national teams.
“Hence, the structure for the success of these national teams in the international arena in 2015 should be of utmost concern,’’ West said.
According to him, some ex-international footballers should be brought in to contribute their quotas to football administration.
“We have ex-internationals who are coaches already; however, it is not all of us who can or should be coaches.
“We can contribute a lot in the day-to-day administration of football in Nigeria and propose better policies that brought success in countries where we played.
“We have a lot of knowledge that can bring changes and development from the grassroots to the senior teams,’’ he said.
The former `defence marshal’, who played in several top European clubs, urged the NFF to line up top-rated teams for friendly matches with Super Eagles after the AFCON Championship.
“Friendly matches are very essential in helping the coach to know about the players and their abilities.
“ The NFF should be looking at preparing Super Eagles to play against the three top-rated teams from the AFCON 2015 championship.
“They should not be in a hurry to overhaul the entire team but should invite new players that can bring necessary fight for jersey,’’ West said.
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Headvised that players such as AustinOkocha should be encouraged to spend time with the players to share his experience in football. (NAN)
