In a bid to turn around the fortunes of coaching in Nigeria, 40 grassroots coaches are currently undergoing a seven-day coaching course in Abuja.

The President of Nigeria Football Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau during the opening ceremony of the first-ever NFF D-License Coaching Course yesterday called on the coaches across the Federation to elect diligence and ambition as their watchwords, as the NFF is ready to select the very best among them to discover and nurture talents for the U15 and U16 National Teams.

"After this coaching course, we are going to start our U15 and U16 programs. This program will commence from the State level, move through the zonal level and then peak at the National level. Through this program, talents are going to be identified for nurturing. It is people who excel from this course that we are going to use at the State level. We cannot bring you here to train you and then abandon you to go and pick some other persons to work with us.

"However, we must see that seriousness, diligence and passion in you to be ready to work with you. I will speak with your instructors to get me the list of those who distinguish themselves here and whom they can trust to deliver,"Gusau said.

Similarly, the Nigeria Football Federation has described as "very sad" the death at the weekend of former Nigeria U20 Women National Team goalkeeper, Bidemi Aluko-Olaseni.

Aluko-Olaseni, who had been battling with cancer for about eight years, gave up the battle on Friday evening.