Former Super Eagles coach Samson Siasia is set to return to the sidelines as his five-year ban from football imposed by FIFA is due to expire at the end of August 2024.
The ban was originally a lifetime prohibition handed down in 2019 following allegations of involvement in match-fixing activities. However, Siasia’s life ban was successfully appealed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which reduced the punishment to five years, citing insufficient evidence to justify the lifetime penalty.
In addition to the ban, Siasia was fined CHF 50,000 (approximately $51,000), a major financial burden he has struggled to address, especially given his enforced absence from football.
Siasia, in an interview insisted he was innocent and was wrongly accused without not proper evidence.
“There’s no proof to that. When you talk about corruption, is it not when money exchanges hands and all that? There was nothing. There’s no video, no evidence of any wrongdoing. Just because I was talking to a match-fixer, does it make me a match-fixer? No. That was the most annoying part of it.”
“I was actually doing well as a coach. And out of nowhere, bang, it hit me like a slug to my chest, and it broke me down. I wasn’t prepared for it and it just kind of messed up everything. There is a reason why things happen, but this reason was just unbelievable. They accuse you of something that actually never happened. It’s very painful. And then ban you for life for what you did not do. There’s no proof to that effect. But all the same, it’s almost over.”
He also spoke on how he is able to pass through the face and was glad the sentence was reduced.
“I kind of handled it. It’s 2024, it is almost over. So, I just need to build again, to be strong moving forward. I was doing very well as a coach before this ban hit me. But it’s almost over, and I’m coming back bigger and stronger.”
“The most important thing was that I fought my way back from the life ban. They reduced it to five years, because they knew I didn’t do it.”
Yet, he believed the Nigerian government should have help him but was disappointed no step was taken nor was he question.
“That’s how it’s supposed to be. But they just left me on my own, and did nothing. it’s (almost) over now. Everybody has to learn from what happened to me. But the country has to do better than what they did to me. They have to do better.”
With his return to coaching imminent, several clubs in Nigeria’s domestic leagues, including the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) and the Nigeria National League (NNL), are reportedly interested in securing Siasia’s services.
Among these clubs is Mighty Jets, one of Nigeria’s historic football teams, who are reportedly in discussions with the former Super Eagles coach about a potential role.
Samson Siasia is expected to finalize his decision on which club to join by the end of August or better still, take a step back to avoid rushing into the football coaching management.
