NFF appoints Siasia as Oliseh’s replacement

Nigeria’s Olympic team coach Samson Siasia will take charge for the Super Eagles’ upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers after Sunday Oliseh resigned, the country’s football federation said on Friday.

Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) technical committee chairman Chris Green announced the appointments in the capital Abuja in the wake of Oliseh’s departure.

The 41-year-old coach quit overnight, citing unpaid wages and contractual breaches, throwing Nigeria’s qualification into doubt for next year’s Cup of Nations tournament in Gabon.

Siasia will be joined on the bench by national team assistant coach Salisa Yusuf and Under 20 manager Emmanuel Amuneke to prepare for the double-header with Egypt next month.

Shaibu Amodu, who has previously managed the national team on four occasions, declined to return on health grounds but will have a supervisory role, the NFF said.

“These are temporary appointments and they will be reviewed after the matches against Egypt with the coaches expected to revert to their primary assignments,” said one official who was at the meeting.

It is understood Nigeria are looking to appoint a full-time foreign coach.

Siasia’s appointment is a return to the job he lost in 2011 when he was sacked in the wake of Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the 2012 Africa Cup.

Oliseh was just eight months into a three-year contract and said he quit because he did not enjoy the support of the NFF.