The President of Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau has disclosed that the Super Eagles Technical Adviser Jose Santos Peseiro has been mandated to tinker the CHAN Eagles for optimum results and reinvigoration.
He made this pledge while reviewing the activities of the NFF and the teams in one year of his Board in office, and also articulating expectations for the next one year.
Speaking on the occasion to media to mark the first anniversary, Gusau disclosed that Peseiro is coming to reside permanently in the country and we have asked him to take over the CHAN Eagles which comprises of our league players.
The former Zamfara State Football Association chairman also revealed that his main target right now is for the Super Eagles to pick the 2026 World Cup that will be jointly hosted by the USA, Canada, and Mexico as well as to win the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote D’Ivoire, which will be played from January 13th to February 11th, 2024.
It’s exactly 10 years ago that Nigeria lifted the AFCON title in South Africa, President Gusua who is celebrating his 365 days in office said that is why the board is going the extra mile for the national teams to be in good shape before any competition.
While highlighting the achievements of the past year, which included a first-ever podium finish at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, quarter-final performance of the Flying Eagles at the FIFA U20 World Cup, qualification of the Super Eagles to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and best-ever outing by the Super Falcons at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Gusau asserted that the Board and Secretariat have worked in tandem to remove toxicity from the system and enable a more conducive environment for the game in the country.
“One of our priorities on coming into office was to ensure that the football environment was cleansed of so much toxicity that had threatened the health of the game and made some persons feel unwelcome in the system. We have tried our best to give everyone a sense of belonging with a policy of inclusiveness.
“Off the pitch, we are proud of the work of the Interim Management Committee that we constituted to organize the last NPFL League Season, which was commended by all stakeholders, and we also feel fulfilled about the constitution of the Boards of the NNL, NWFL, and NLO with vibrant, knowledgeable and competent individuals who are capable of taking the leagues to the next level. Elections into the State FAs have also been largely peaceful and successful.”
Gusau said his board will work assiduously and diligently with the secretariat and the Federal Ministry of Sports Development to see the Super Eagles off to a great start in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying series and to win the 34th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire early next year.
“We also want to see the Super Falcons reclaim their African title and return to the Women Olympic Football Tournament. Our expectations include making good progress in our plan for hostel accommodation and some playing pitches for the National Teams, through the FIFA Forward 3.0 program, and also see that the U17 and U20 Women National Teams achieve their best-ever outings at their different World Cups next year.
The NFF boss said his team will also not allow any FIFA window for friendly matches to go unutilized.
“As you can see, we have arranged two matches for the Super Eagles in this month’s window, against Saudi Arabia and Mozambique. Mozambique is in southern Africa where three of our opponents in the World Cup qualifiers, namely Lesotho, Zimbabwe and South Africa also are. Playing Mozambique is a good opportunity for the team to have a sneak preview of what to expect against these three teams.”
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