The Nigeria Football Coaches Association (NFCA) has called for a comprehensive overhaul of football coaching in Nigeria, proposing a national coaching curriculum, mandatory registration of coaches, zonal education centres and improved welfare as key components of sustainable football development.
The proposals are contained in a reform document presented by NFCA President, Coach Dr Isah Ladan Bosso, to the FIFA delegation assessing the proposed reforms of Nigerian football on Monday, September 14, 2026.
The coaches’ body argued that reforming Nigerian football must begin with the people responsible for developing its players, identifying poor coach education structures, inadequate welfare and remuneration, lack of a centralised database, quackery and the limited involvement of coaches in football administration among the major challenges confronting the profession.
“Develop the coach, and the player will develop,” the NFCA stated in its conclusion, arguing that a well-trained, well-paid and properly organised coaching workforce is fundamental to sustainable football development.
Under its proposed education reforms, the association called for the development of a National Coaching Curriculum to establish a structured and standardised pathway for coach development across the country.
It also proposed the establishment of Zonal Coach Education Centres, with the Nigeria Football Federation expected to collaborate with the National Institute for Sports to deliver coach education across Nigeria.
The NFCA further recommended mandatory Continuous Professional Development (CPD), alongside legal recognition and compulsory registration of football coaches.
Other proposals include the creation of a welfare scheme for coaches, capacity building for the NFCA, formal coach employment guidelines and the development of a comprehensive data and digitalisation system for the profession.
The association identified funding, bureaucracy, poor perception of coaching, inadequate infrastructure, the technology gap and undue interference as some of the key challenges that must be addressed if the proposed reforms are to succeed.
It also highlighted weaknesses within the NFCA itself, including limited institutional capacity, inadequate influence over football policy, the absence of mandatory membership, weak welfare programmes and fragmented state chapters.
According to the association, strengthening the NFCA would give coaches a more effective voice in decisions affecting Nigerian football while creating a more professional environment for the coaching workforce.
The proposed reforms are expected to produce better-trained coaches and, consequently, better-developed players and stronger national teams. The NFCA also believes professionalising coaching could reduce the loss of coaching talent and attract increased private-sector investment into coach development.
The document was presented against the backdrop of the ongoing push for comprehensive reform of Nigerian football following the resignation of the Nigeria Football Federation board and General Secretary.
For the NFCA, the reform process represents an opportunity to place technical development at the heart of Nigeria’s football restructuring.
Its central message is unequivocal: sustainable progress on the pitch must begin with investment in the coaches responsible for developing the next generation of Nigerian players.
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