Ladan Bosso, the head coach of Nigeria’s U20 national football team, the Flying Eagles, has recently denied allegations of receiving bribes from agents to select players for the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament. In a recent interview with The Punch, Bosso vehemently dismissed the claims as baseless, stating that he and his coaching crew had rejected attempts by agents to bribe them.
Bosso, who has a long-term goal of coaching Nigeria’s senior national team, the Super Eagles, emphasized the importance of selecting players based on merit and performance. He affirmed that any wrongdoing could severely affect his chances of achieving his dream of coaching the Super Eagles.
“I want anybody to come out and say his player made my team because he paid me money,” Bosso said in the interview. “People wanted to indulge us with money to use their players, but we sacked their players to avoid national embarrassment. So, the issue of bribery is not true.”
The 55-year-old coach led the Flying Eagles to qualify for the World Cup following the team’s third-place finish at the CAF U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. He believes that a successful run with the Flying Eagles at the 2023 FIFA U20 World Cup would further increase his chances of being promoted to coach the Super Eagles.
Bosso also revealed that some agents had tried to bribe him and his team to include their players in the squad, but they turned down the offers and sacked the players to avoid any national embarrassment. He further stated that his target is to see himself coaching the Super Eagles based on merit and performance.
“These are the kind of things that I am looking forward to, and that is my target,” Bosso said. “I want to see myself in the Super Eagles on merit, and the only way I can see myself coaching the Super Eagles is to do well with this team so that me and the players can be promoted.”
Currently, the Super Eagles’ head coach is Portuguese tactician Jose Peseiro, assisted by Finidi George, Salisu Yusuf, and Ike Shorunmu.
OJB SPORT 