Tanzania appoint Emmanuel Amuneke as head coach

By Akeem Lawal

TANZANIA have appointed former Nigeria winger Emmanuel Amuneke as the new head coach of the national team, Taifa Stars, Sportsbiz247.blogspot.com reports.

The 47-year-old Amunike penned a two-year deal to take over from Salum Mayanga, who was sacked for poor results.

The former Super Eagles and Barcelona forward led Nigeria U-17 team to World Cup glory in 2015 and has managed several clubs including Sudan’s Al Khartoum, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hazm amongst others.

"I am happy to start this new job and work hard so that we can achieve a lot together," Amuneke told local media after being unveiled in Dar es Salaam.

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

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, 47, 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 Chile and, 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.

His clubs included Egyptian side Zamalek, and he played at European football heavyweights FC Barcelona and Portugal's Sporting Club.