BY PAUL EREWUBA

FORMER Secretary General of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA), Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi, has sensation- ally submitted that the nation’s senior team, the Super Eagles would have won the FIFA World Cup several years af- ter they stunned the world at USA ’94 World Cup but for the regress under in- digenous coaches.

He told Saturday Sunsport in Lagos, while evaluating Nigerian football in the out gone year, that Nigerian football has been bedeviled by one crisis after the other.

The former sole administrator of Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) said it was indeed regrettable that Nigerian football suffered due to the selfish in- terests of people who claim to be stake- holders.

He said the coming of Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has made the team to improve in performance, but was quick to add that the players are already on ground before the German’s arrival and pointed out that misapplication of the players by indigenous coaches who were there before him derailed the prog- ress of the team.

He added that if the team is well han- dled now, the present group of players should be able to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and go ahead to make a big statement in Russia.

“Nigerian football is still below aver- age. Things have not been working well in Nigerian football. We’ve been having problems here and there. And I want to blame the football leadership for it.

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“When you are gunning for any posi- tion or office, you must be prepared for that job before you get to that office. If you don’t you will have problems and that is why we are having problems in the leadership of the the NFF. Most of the leaders now don’t prepare well be- fore they jump into it.

“Last year, it was problems and crisis upon crises. These problems have been a big embarrassment to the nation giv- ing the meaning that Nigerian football is still in the back.

On the splendid run of the Super Eagles in the Russia 2018 World Cup, Ogunjobi said he would not give the entire credit to the Franco-German.

“If you ask me, I would say yes and no at the same time. It’s true that the Super Eagles are doing well. But the boys have been there even before Rohr’s arrival. But our indigenous coaches were not able to get their acts together. And now that we have a for- eigner in charge, things are going on well, because he wants to succeed.

“I must say he is lucky because these boys are on ground. They are there for long now. But because Nigerian coaches put sentiment to things, they did not invite those that were supposed to give them results. But the foreigner came and did it. If you are good he picks you. And that is the difference between foreign coaches and our indigenous ones.

“Talking about the World Cup, we will qualify. The Super Eagles are playing the Indomitable Lions in a double header and I believe with the present crop of players that we have now, Nigeria will conquer Camer- oon.”