Nigerian fans call for Salisu Yusuf sacking after Paris 2024 Olympic ouster

By Wale Mustapha

The Nigeria Football Federation, has been urged to sack head coach of U23 national team, Salisu Yusuf following the country’s failure to qualify for the 2023 U23 African Cup of Nations, AFCON taking place in Morocco later in the year.

Nigeria’s failure to qualify for the U23 AFCON tournament also mean the country will be missing out of men’s football event of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as it will also serve as qualifiers for the Olympic games.

The Olympic Eagles as the U23 team are also called lost 2-0 to Guinea in the second leg of their last qualifying match after being held to a goaless draw in the first leg in Abuja.

The failure of the team under Yusuf capped a run of miserable spells of dismal outings of national teams handled by the former Kano Pillars’ coach.

“Salisu Yusuf will finish our national teams if we are not careful. He has always been poor but I wonder how he gets the national team job,” journalist Israel Bankole wrote.

Another journalist, Andrew Randa, who had expressed fears after the scoreless first leg in Abuja, also suggested the coach should voluntarily quit his roles as coach.

“Another failure in the Olympics. NFF will have to take this L and reflect on what could have been. Salisu also needs to walk away. I know the U-23 is the ministry’s team, but Salisu was to prepare the team. No excuses,” Randa wrote.

A concerned fan, Henry Usha, also queried the NFF for handing Salisu the jobs despite his questionable credentials.

“I don’t blame Salisu, I blame those that gave him the job after a series of failures as coach. Seventh-place finish at Enugu Rangers in the league, relegated Kano Pillars, failed at CHAN qualifiers and now, the U-23 AFCON qualifiers. He should go and retire.”

On his perpetual appointments with the NFF, veteran analyst Desmond Ekwueme described the coach as fortunate but unfit to lead any of the national teams.

“Despite his unimpressive performance, he keeps getting appointments and shuttling among the U-23 Eagles, home-based Super Eagles and Super Eagles,” Ekwueme said.