In a move to enhance the development of women’s football in the country, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has selected 30 women to undergo the CAF C coaching licence course later this month in Abuja.

The President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau, revealed this in an interview with journalists, stating that all necessary preparations have been made by the Technical Department of the country’s football governing body to ensure the successful conduct of the course in May.

“We have blazed the trail in women football in the continent since the inception of the game and most of the players who have made us dominate the continent over the years have retired and probably no longer in football or into coaching without the required training and certificate,” Gusau stated.

He continued, “The NFF under my watch will help give the women a helping hand in their development and that of the game. We need women coaches to come of age and take full charge of coaching women soccer clubs and the national teams. This first set of women for the CAF C licence will hopefully grow to get their CAF A and B in future.

“We have been in communication with CAF on this for long time now and now that their syllabus for CAF C is ready, we are hopeful that CAF will send the men who will conduct the course before the end of the month. We hope to start with 30 women and see how it goes.” 

In a related update, the NFF Technical Director, Austin Eguavoen, announced that the syllabuses for CAF A and B licences for male coaches have been approved.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) stated that these courses might be held concurrently with the women’s CAF C licence session.

Eguavoen, a former Super Eagles coach, explained that the delay in organising the CAF licencing courses since 2018 was due to CAF’s insistence on developing a comprehensive syllabus for the course, aiming to ensure that coaches are adequately trained and certified.

“CAF expressed dissatisfaction with previous licencing courses conducted in some countries, including Nigeria, where over 100 coaches were registered, and all passed the course,” clarified Eguavoen.

“Now, they have introduced a syllabus that every coach must excel in before being licenced to coach at higher levels. We have submitted our syllabus, and they have approved it, so we are ready for them to confirm the exact date of commencement.”