Usman Abdallah names Salisu Yusuf as the only Nigerian coach qualified for Super Eagles job

Former Super Eagles assistant coach Usman Abdallah has made a controversial statement, asserting that no Nigerian coach except Usman Abdallah is currently qualified to manage the country’s senior men’s national team.

Usman Abdallah’s comments come in the wake of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) announcing its intention to hire a foreign coach following Finidi George’s resignation last month.

The NFF’s decision is driven by dissatisfaction among fans due to the team’s recent poor performances, including a shocking defeat to Benin Republic in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Since the Super Eagles’ inception, only 10 out of 27 head coaches have been Nigerian, with Finidi being the latest to step down in June.

Abdallah, who served as an assistant under former head coach Jose Peseiro, expressed that he is not concerned about stirring controversy with his remarks.

He emphasised that Nigerian coaches, whether based locally or abroad, lack the necessary qualifications for the head coach role. He highlighted that Salisu Yusuf, despite his past controversies, is the only potential candidate, but he is not widely accepted.

“It doesn’t bother me whether the NFF is considering bringing Jose Peseiro back or if they want to hire Hervé Renard as the Eagles coach as long as they can afford to pay their salaries,” Usman Abdallah said.

“The issue is, I have heard people say they don’t want us to spend money on the foreign coach but show me a coach qualified for the Eagles job who is a Nigerian whether home or abroad. The fact is we don’t have it.

“The only person we have is Salisu Yusuf, who a lot of people don’t want because of what happened in the past, but I don’t want to argue about that. Nigerian coaches have always been serving as assistants and none of us can argue that we were better than those we’ve worked with,” the former Enyimba FC head coach remarked.