Austin Eguavoen serving as the NFF technical director and Super Eagles’ interim head coach might be proof of his commitment to Nigerian football for many, but for Samson Siasia, it’s a conflict of priorities that must be addressed.
Super Eagles legend Samson Siasia has urged his former teammate Austine Eguavoen to step down as the Super Eagles’s interim head coach and quit holding dual roles within the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
Eguavoen has been the technical director of the NFF since October 2020 and was reappointed as the Super Eagles’s head coach in August 2024. This came after the NFF failed to hire Bruno Labbadia ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.
The appointment marked Eguavoen’s fourth stint as the Eagles’s manager, and the 59-year-old made a significant impact by leading the three-time African champions to secure the 2025 AFCON qualification with a game to spare. However, a year-ending loss to Rwanda marred his otherwise commendable run.
Nonetheless, Siasia expressed his concerns about Eguavoen juggling two roles, stating, “As for Austin Eguavoen’s future with the Super Eagles, I will suggest that we wait a while to see how the team will be. It is a very young team.
“He cannot hold two positions at the same time. He should actually decide on which one to hold and leave the other.
“Eguavoen has a job already as the technical director. He should resign as Super Eagles manager and concentrate on his job.”
On the ongoing search for a permanent head coach for the Super Eagles, Siasia criticised the idea of hiring a foreign coach, and advocated for the appointment of local coaches.
“We don’t want any foreign coach here because they are not coming to do anything. We have enough good materials at home that we should not be talking about hiring a foreign coach,” he said.
Meanwhile, former NFF technical director James Peters has also voiced his disapproval of Eguavoen’s suitability for the role.
“We are walking on a tightrope, and I don’t think Eguavoen has the capacity; and at this stage, it’s a hopeless situation,” Peters stated.
“What Eguavoen will do would be nothing to write home about. Eguavoen is not experienced, but he just wants to be there; he’s not good enough to handle the national team. He has failed many times.
“Must he fail the tenth time before they know that he cannot do it? It is an unfortunate situation, and we are not putting anybody competent enough in that place.”
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