By Dayo Awoniyi
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Tuesday flagged off a six-day D-License Coaching Course in Abuja, with 40 coaches beginning training aimed at strengthening grassroots football development.
Opening the programme, NFF Technical Director Augustine Eguavoen described the initiative as the foundation of the coaching pathway, stressing that the course is a prerequisite for the C-License and comprises structured modules totalling at least 60 hours.
“Just as it is in life, everything in football is in stages. We have a lot of talented young ones out there, and it is not the way you coach adults that you coach the young ones. Coaching the young ones requires special training,” Eguavoen said.
He further noted that the programme will be decentralised in due course.
“This course is not going to be a one-off. After this national programme, we will take it to the zones and subsequently to the states. With 40 coaches already on board, I can assure you they have a lot to learn.”
The D-License training comes on the heels of several NFF-led initiatives to raise coaching standards nationwide.
These include the record-setting CAF C-License course exclusively for women coaches last year, a CAF B-License course in April that trained 30 participants, and a Coach Educators’ Course in July featuring 25 participants.
The federation says these programmes are part of a long-term strategy to modernise Nigeria’s coaching framework and improve player development from the grassroots to elite level.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
