Tanzania appoint former Nigeria winger Amuneke as head coach

By Andrew Jackson Oryada*

Emmanuel Amuneke represented Nigeria at the 1994 World Cup

Tanzania have appointed former Nigeria winger Emmanuel Amuneke as the new head coach of the national team.

Amuneke, who was most recently coach of Sudan Premier League side Al Khartoum SC, has signed a two-year contract.

“I am happy to start this new job and work hard so that we can achieve a lot together,” Amuneke told local media.

His first competitive game in charge of the senior Taifa Stars will be their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Uganda in September.

Amuneke, 47, replaces local coach Salum Mayanga who had been in charge of Tanzania since last year.

Wallace Karia, president of the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) told the BBC that Amuneke will also oversee the other Tanzania teams, including the U-17 and U-20 groups.

“We shall have coaches for the other teams, but Amuneke will be the head starting with the 2019 African U-17 qualifiers which kick-off in Dar es Salaam this weekend.

“We are happy to have Amuneke who has played at the top and has a lot of experience as a coach. We have picked our very own from Africa,” added Karia.

Amuneke was the assistant coach when Nigeria won the Fifa U-17 World Cup trophy for a record fourth time in the United Arab Emirates in 2013.

Two years later Amuneke led Nigeria to a fifth U-17 World Cup title in Chileand, revered as a proven youth manager, he was swiftly promoted to coach the U-20 side the Flying Eagles.

As a player, he was a key part of the Super Eagles team, scoring both goals at the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations in Tunisia where Nigeria beat Zambia 2-1 to secure their second African title.

He also played at the 1994 World Cup – scoring memorable goals against Bulgaria and Italy.

He scored the winner again as Nigeria stunned Argentina 3-2 in the 1996 Olympic football final in Atlanta to become the first African football nation to win Olympic gold.