Alhaji Musa Gusau, the president of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), has finally addressed the recent appointment of Coach Aliyu Zubair as the head coach of the Flying Eagles, Nigeria's under-20 men's national team as gathered by Nigeriasoccernet.com.
Zubair was selected in September to lead the team ahead of the WAFU-Zone B tournament in Togo.
In an interview with NFF TV, Gusau emphasized that the appointment was solely based on Zubair's impressive track record and merits. He highlighted the NFF Technical Committee's autonomy in the selection process, stating that the committee's recommendation was instrumental in the final decision.
Gusau reiterated the NFF's commitment to prioritizing merit over other factors when appointing coaches for Nigeria's national teams. He praised Zubair's accomplishments, including his successful promotion of two different teams from the Nigeria National League (NNL) to the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL). Zubair is also well-regarded for his ability to discover and nurture young talent.
"We have a coach in the Under-20 and we look at merit- we gave the Technical committee to look at who is capable based on the current performance and current situation to give us what we want as far as our team is concerned and they decided to say that they want to give us Aliyu Zubair to handle U-20 who happens to be the Coach of Elkanemi Warriors", NFF President stated.
Gusau acknowledged Coach Aliyu Zubair's feat of promoting the Elkanemi Warriors from the NNL to the NPFL and also led the team to 2024 President Federation Cup glory where they defeated Abia Warriors 2-0 in the final.
"Everybody saw the performance of the boys how they are doing and look at what the young boys are doing in the league and when they( NFF Technical Committee) say it's Aliyu Zubairu, we didn't dispute it" , Gusau added.
Since he was appointed head coach of the Flying Eagles, Coach Aliyu Zubair has been diligently training and preparing the team for upcoming challenges. His appointment has been widely praised and seen as a refreshing change.
Under Zubair's leadership, the team has participated in several friendly matches at their open camp in Abuja, achieving impressive results with eight wins out of nine games. The Flying Eagles, who reached the quarterfinals of the 2023 FIFA World Cup, have now relocated to Ikenne for a week-long training camp at the Remo Sports Institute before heading to Lome for the WAFU-Zone B tournament.
The team will compete against Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire in Group B, aiming to defend their title from the previous tournament held in Niger Republic. The championship in Togo serves as a qualifying competition for the 2025 Africa U20 Cup of Nations, with the top four teams advancing to the FIFA U20 World Cup finals in Chile.
By Olaleye Oluwadamilola