The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has kicked off its D-Licence coaching programme, with 40 coaches taking part in the six-day course that began in Abuja on Tuesday.

According to NFF Technical Director, Augustine Eguavoen, the D-Licence serves as the entry point for aspiring coaches and is designed in modules tailored for beginners. He explained that the programme requires a minimum of 60 hours of training and is mandatory before progression to the C-Licence level.

“Just as it is in life, everything in football is in stages,” Eguavoen said. “We have a lot of talented young ones out there, and coaching them requires a different approach from coaching adults."

“It will not be a one-off exercise. After this national programme, we will extend it to the zones and later to the states. The 40 participants here have a lot to learn,” the former Super Eagles coach added.

The return of structured coaching courses in Nigeria began with last year’s landmark CAF C-Licence programme, exclusively for women coaches, which drew 30 participants across three modules. Earlier this year, the NFF also organised a CAF B-Licence course with 30 participants in April, followed by a Coach Educators’ Course for 25 participants about two months ago.