29th June, 2015
Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has sacked the Chief Coach of the country’s senior national team, the Super Falcons, Mr. Edwin Okon.
NFF says Christopher Danjuma should take over as the new Head Coach in acting capacity. The appointment is with immediate effect.
Chairman of the NFF Technical and Development Committee, Chief Felix Anyansi-Agwu, praised the efforts of the former technical crew headed by Okon, saying they did their best within the period they were in charge of the team.
“We commend Okon and his crew for the services rendered to the country, and they did well to reclaim the African Women Championship, AWC, title for the country in Namibia in October 2014, thus qualifying the team for the Women’s World Cup in Canada. Okon took Nigeria to a disappointing first round outing at the ongoing Women’s World Cup.
“The contract given to the crew has elapsed with the Women’s World Cup in Canada. Mr. Christopher Danjuma will now take over the team in acting capacity, pending the appointment of a substantive coaching crew, which process is ongoing.”
Anyansi-Agwu has also assured that the NFF will give the new Head Coach and his crew all the support to qualify the Falcons for the Women’s Football Tournament of the 2016 Olympics, billed for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“The team will soon move to Port Harcourt to get used to the pitch on which it will play Equatorial Guinea in the third round of the Olympics qualifiers. The NFF will provide everything that the team need to succeed.”
Danjuma was an assistant to Okon in the previous dispensation. Danjuma’s first assignment will be to see the Falcons past Equatorial Guinea, with the first leg in Port Harcourt on Saturday, 18 July and the return leg in Bata on 2 August.
Meanwhile, as the country’s U-20 women team, the Falconets intensified their preparation for the 2015 CAF U-20 Women’s World Cup qualifying tournament against Liberia, coach of the team, Peter Dedebvo, says he knows little about his opponents while he’s yet to select a team for the qualifier.
Dedebvo, who led Nigeria to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup finals in 2014, admits that no team in Africa is a push over, adding that Nigeria’s pedigree on the continent would count for something against their West African opponents in the qualifier.