Pinnick, who is also a member of the FIFA Council, shared this information during an interview on Channels Television’s Sports Tonight on Friday.
“Any moment from now, I am sure they would be announcing a coach, an enterprising coach at that,” he stated.
Since George Finidi's departure in June 2024, following Jose Peseiro's exit after the Super Eagles secured a second-place finish at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the team has been without a head coach.
Augustine Eguavoen has been serving as the interim coach, successfully guiding Nigeria to qualify for the 2025 AFCON.
Despite this achievement, the NFF is determined to bring in a new coach in preparation for the upcoming 2026 World Cup qualifiers, which will resume later this year.
Currently, the Super Eagles sit in fifth place in Group C of the African qualification series for the World Cup, which is set to take place in the USA, Mexico, and Canada. They have yet to secure a win in four matches, accumulating only three points, four points behind the group leaders, Rwanda.
We Would Still Qualify
Nevertheless, Pinnick remains optimistic about the Super Eagles' prospects for qualifying for the tournament.
“We believe we would still qualify by God’s grace,” he said.
“I speak to the president [of the NFF] every other day and I know he is very religious about qualifying Nigeria for the World Cup. It is going to be a tough call. I don’t want to raise the hopes of any Nigerian that we would qualify. But we would try our human extreme. When I say human extreme, on a scale of 1-10, we would get to that 10 and see if we can make it happen. We believe it is divine.”
Since their first appearance at the 1994 World Cup, the Super Eagles have consistently qualified for the prestigious tournament. However, they were unable to participate in the most recent edition held in Qatar, having been eliminated by Ghana on the away goals rule during the playoffs. Additionally, Nigeria did not qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.