The Nigerian Football Association has announced that Amodu Shaibu will continue coaching the team for next year's World Cup after guiding it to a berth in the finals.
Shaibu's appointment had only been seen as a temporary measure when Dutch coach Jo Bonfrere was fired in April after a string of poor results. But Shaibu has led the team to five wins in five games and saw them clinch the last Confederation of African Football berth in the World Cup finals with a 3-0 win over Ghana on Sunday.
Nigeria has had 21 foreign coaches since the 1950's. Shaibu is the first Nigerian coach to take the national team to the World Cup finals. Dutchman Clemens Westerhof qualified the Nigerians for their World Cup debut in 1994 in the United States, while Frenchman Phillipe Troussier led the team to the 1998 finals in France.
In addition to a 2002 World Cup spot, Shaibu's team has also booked a place at next year's 16-team African Nations Cup tournament. It will be hosted by Mali between January 19 and February 10.