CAF: Maigari calmly accepts defeat

President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Aminu Maigari, said on Monday that he has gained tremendous experience in football politics by participating in Sunday’s Confederation of African Football elections held in Marrakech, Morocco. The Nigerian FA boss, whose aides complained bitterly about the outcome of the elections, said that he was not bitter but called on CAF to strive to entrench a system that would allow the best candidates win and manage the game on the continent.

He said, “The poll was an experience and I have no hard feelings. That’s what life is all about. You learn every day. I am proud of the campaign we conducted. But it is time that African football began to put in place a structure that will allow the best to emerge in the CAF Executive Committee.

“Nigerian football is big, not only because we are the current champions of Africa at both junior and senior levels, but also as a result of what we have achieved in the past, on and off the field. It is my view that Nigeria should always be considered for a seat in the Executive Committee.”

Some of Maigari’s aides who have made their disenchantment with the election public, accused certain Nigerians of ensuring that the NFF boss lost out.

But while Maigari licks his wounds and wait for another chance the NFF said it had contacted ex-Nigeria coach Samson Siasia to take charge of the country’s Olympic team – the U-23 team. MTNFootball.com reported on Monday.

Siasia was fired in October 2011 after he failed to qualify Nigeria for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Since his  dismissal, he has not worked in an official capacity even though he was linked to various coaching jobs from India to Kenya.

“We have contacted Siasia for the vacant U-23 job but he is yet to get back to us,” a top NFF official stated.

“He was on holidays in the US but we hear he is back so we will be expecting his response because we want to start early so as to avoid a similar pain of 2011.”

Siasia led Nigeria to the final of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China, where they lost by 1-0 to a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina.

Austin Eguavoen resigned his post as coach of the Nigeria U-23s after he failed to qualify the team for the All Africa Games and the London 2012 Olympics.

THE PUNCH