Siasia says five-year ban spent updating his football knowledge

Samson Siasia says he is reinvigorated after completing a five-year ban imposed by FIFA and expressed his eagerness to resume his lifelong passion for coaching.

Siasia acknowledged the past five years were filled with pain and emotional challenges, but he remained dedicated to football.

The former Super Eagles forward and two-time Olympic Games medal-winning coach on Thursday, 22 August, completed a five-year ban imposed by FIFA for a match-fixing allegation.

The ban, initially a lifetime one, was reduced on appeal to five years by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in 2019.

Siasia spoke to NAN on the sidelines of an event organised by friends and parents of his football academy, Siaone Soccer Academy, to mark his return to complete football activities on Saturday in Abuja.

He admitted it had been five tough years of pain and emotional anguish for him.

Siasia said the ban came as a shock and was devastating, adding that it was over an offence he never committed. He said he was charged, investigated, tried, and sentenced without knowledge.

“I was never informed that I was under investigation over any allegation against me. I did not have the chance to defend myself for one second before I was banned.

“I was prevented from fully practising my only profession, the game of football.

“But I thank God that the night is over, the day is here at last, and I am free again to practice my profession with my usual honesty and sincerity of character.

“In my over 25 years of coaching career, I have jealously guarded and maintained my principles and character with the utmost uncompromising sincerity.

“I have never and will never partake in bribery, corruption, or dirty deals of any sort,” he said.

The 57-year-old tactician, however, said he was inseparable from football, adding that the ban did not forbid him from renewing his knowledge of the game.

He said that his only aspiration was to see Nigeria succeed, get back, and reclaim her rightful position among the successful football-playing nations of the world.

“I wish to inform my supporters across Nigeria 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, painstaking updating, and close appraisal and reappraisal of the dynamics of the game of my youth and adulthood.

“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,” he added.

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Siasia thanked everyone who stood by him during his trying moments, including his family, supporters and sports journalists, for their solidarity.

He appreciated the committee of friends and parents of Siaone Soccer Academy for hosting the event in his honour.

NAN