CAF has reinstated Nigeria into the CAF A Coaching Convention, paving the way for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to resume CAF A coaching licence courses for the first time in nine years, www.aclsports.com reports.
Following several unsuccessful efforts to secure the reinstatement in recent months, the latest development comes as a major boost for coaching education in Nigeria.
“We are pleased to inform you that the CAF A course curriculum submitted by NFF has been approved. You can now proceed with submitting a request for a CAF A course through the CMS, subject to an inspection visit,” CAF’s Coaching Education Project Manager, Jaida Zakaria, wrote in a letter to the NFF on Wednesday.
NFF’s Head of Coaching Education, Dr Terry Babatunde Eguaoje, was exultant: “This is truly huge, after nine years! Admission into the CAF A coaching convention is a big deal. This is in addition to the CAF D, C, and B that had been approved at various times by CAF.”
NFF General Secretary, Dr Mohammed Sanusi, himself a CAF coaching instructor, said: “We are elated by this positive development for the cause of coaching in our country. The NFF will commence preparations in earnest to put logistics in place for the first CAF A-License coaching course in this country since 2017.”
Last year, the NFF held a four-month CAF B Licence coaching course for about 25 coaches, as well as a D-coaching licence course. Meanwhile, in 2024, the NFF also ran a CAF C Licence programme exclusively for women—the first of its kind in the country. The course attracted 30 female coaches from across Nigeria.
