Siasia signals readiness to return to football coaching
Former Nigerian international Samson Siasia has indicated his intentions to return to football management after completing his five-year ban slammed on him by FIFA. Speaking at an event in Abuja, where he was officially welcomed back to football activities by the parents of SiaOne Academy and some friends, Siasia clarified that he was never guilty […]
FIFA ban: I’m coming back bigger and stronger – Siasia
Former Nigerian international Samson Siasia has indicated his intentions to return to football management after completing his five-year ban slammed on him by FIFA.
Speaking at an event in Abuja, where he was officially welcomed back to football activities by the parents of SiaOne Academy and some friends, Siasia clarified that he was never guilty of bribery or any other wrongdoing.
He explained that the situation arose when someone from Australia contacted him about managing a football club.
Reflecting on the ordeal, Siasia, whose ban expired on August 16, 2024, admitted that his only mistake was dealing directly with potential clients instead of having them go through his agent.
In his first statement since returning from a five-year ban, Samson Siasia expressed his anguish over being charged, tried, and sentenced without his knowledge or chance to defend himself. Despite the emotional pain, he is relieved to be free again and reaffirms his commitment to honesty and integrity in football.
“I wish to inform my supporters across Nigerians and beyond that I did not spend the last five years in idleness or lamentation. Not one day out of the 1,826 days was wasted in agony or hopelessness. It was a period of serious reflection and painstaking updating and close appraisal and reappraisal of the dynamics of the game of my youth and adulthood. I am inseparable from football. Luckily, the ban did not forbid me from refreshing and renewing my knowledge of the game.
“Today, I am back more resolved, more determined, more committed and unbowed. For five years, I was down, but I am certainly not out because it is not over. I am returning to the game renewed and prepared to continue with my lifetime passion.
“I was not coaching Nigeria. I was not managing any other country. I was not coaching any club or team and I was not a football agent when I was charged in absentia and punished. What happened to me was a shocking and unbelievable experience.
“To my fellow countrymen, my supporters and associates, let me assure you all that I am still the same Coach Samson Siasia that you all knew and trusted. I will never disappoint you. My concern remains football advancement, successes and triumphs by Nigeria and our sports-loving compatriots particularly our active professional football players in the country and elsewhere.
“My one and only aspiration is to see Nigeria succeed and get back and reclaim her rightful position among the successful football-playing nations of the world,” he said.