Eguavoen, Okocha join African football legends to attend CAF coach symposium in Cote d’Ivoire

Nigerian football icons Augustine Eguavoen and Jay-Jay Okocha will be among a host of African legends attending the highly anticipated TotalEnergies CAF AFCON 2023 Coaches Symposium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, Soccernet.ng reports.

The two-day event, scheduled for 12-13 September, will bring together some of the continent’s most celebrated figures in football, both past and present, according to Supersport.

The symposium, organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), will feature a star-studded lineup of former players and coaches, including Senegalese icon El Hadji Diouf, Ivorian legend Gadji Celi, and Cameroon’s former goalkeeper Antoine Bell.

The event is designed to foster an exchange of ideas, strategies, and experiences among Africa’s top football minds.

Augustine Eguavoen, who is currently the Technical Director of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), will be one of the notable attendees.

Eguavoen has had a distinguished coaching career across Africa and is presently serving as the interim coach of the Nigerian national team, the Super Eagles.

The 59-year-old former defender recently led Nigeria to a win over Benin and a draw against Rwanda in their last AFCON qualifying matches.

A key figure in Nigeria’s 1994 AFCON-winning squad, Eguavoen’s wealth of experience will be crucial to the discussions at the symposium.

Another significant presence will be that of Jay-Jay Okocha, widely regarded as Nigeria’s most gifted playmaker.

Though Okocha has not taken on a formal coaching role since his retirement, he remains an influential figure in African football.

As one of CAF’s prestigious ambassadors, Okocha will be actively involved in the discussions aimed at improving coaching standards across the continent.

Other prominent names include South African defender Mark Fish, Ghana’s Black Stars coach Otto Addo, and Fulham legend Luis Boa Morte, who currently coaches Guinea-Bissau.

The symposium marks the first-ever gathering of its kind, with over 50 national team coaches from CAF member associations expected to attend.