Sports Revelation Online ..breaking authenic sports reports
By Harry Awurumibe, Editor -in-Chief, Abuja
For the Good of Fatherland …Coach Emmanuel Amuneke in a training ground taking notes.
Unknown to many Nigerians and even the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) one of the indigenous coaches who applied for the vacant head coach of Super Eagles, Emmanuel Amuneke has taken it upon himself to embark on self-sponsored spying mission on Nigeria’s next two group opponents in the 2026 FIFA World Cup African qualifiers coming up in June, South Africa and Benin Republic.
Prompt News can authoritatively confirm that Amuneke has gone ahead to obtain all the relevant technical and administrative information on the South Africans who are expected in Nigeria for the crucial World Cup qualifier billed for Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state on Friday, June 7.
It is a much-anticipated clash after both teams were involved in a dramatic penalty shootout at the semifinal of the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire recently. The Super Eagles prevailed over the Bafana Bafana on 4-2 on penalties to qualify for the final match against the Elephants of Ivory Coast.
“As a patriotic Nigerian, I have gone ahead to gather as much information as I can on Nigeria’s next group opponents especially South Africa and Benin Republic, that will be relevant to the Super Eagles to prosecute the matches.
“So we have been collecting data on South Africa and Benin, their playing pattern and even the pitches. I want to see my country to feature in the 2026 World Cup so whatever I can contribute to help in the circumstance to achieve the goal I will do”, the former FC Barcelona winger revealed at theweekend.
According to him, “if you want to succeed as a coach, you must work ahead of time, like obtaining vital information on your opponents, then you will use it when you assemble the players, to teach them because they must know a thing about their opponents to be able to overcome them and get favourable results”.
Speaking further, he said: “top coaches you see succeeding do not go to sleep even when they are oitnif jobs. So you don’t just relax and wait until you are given the coaching responsibility before you start running helter-skelter looking for help so in my own case I keep working on and out of job, ready to do a good job if and when the opportunity comes”.
The former FIFA U-17 World Cup winning head coach of Golden Eaglets who has been in Nigeria for some weeks now also disclosed that he has obtained information on the technical and tactical formations of the opponents including the visuals of their recent matches and will avail the Nigerian authorities every details of what it will take to outsmart the South African opponents in Uyo.
Amuneke, a member of FIFA and CAF Technical Study Group (TSG), duties he has been performing for the two world and continental football governing bodies for some years now also disclosed that he has been travelling to watch a couple of Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) matches since he arrived the country from his base in Barcelona, Spain.
Said he: “I am a restless person when it has to do to football coaching which I have great passion for hence I have been travelling round some match venues with the aid of close associates and I can say I have seen some good games in Port Harcourt, Aba, Enugu, Owerri and as far as Uyo, Akwa Ibom when Rivers United played the Algerian club USM Algiers in the CAF Confederation Cup match”.
Amuneke who is one of the front-runners for the vacant Super Eagles top job is one of the few Nigerian football coaches within and outside the country who possess high coaching credentials including the highly respected UEFA Masters Degree in Coaching Certificate; UEFA Pro License; UEFA ‘A’ Senior License Level 3; UEFA ‘B’ License Level 2 and UEFA ‘B’ License Level 1 amongst others.
Also, he has a rich coaching experience as he has coached clubs and national teams in his native country Nigeria and his adopted country Spain, Tanzania, Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Zambia. It’s on record that he was head coach of Julius Berger FC of Lagos (2008–2009) and Ocean Boys FC of Brass, Bayelsa state (2009–2011) before going back to Spain for further Coaching Courses.