ABUJA, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria has appointed Swedish national Thomas Dennerby as head coach of its national female soccer team, the Super Falcons, an official confirmed on Friday.
Shehu Dikko, a vice-president of the Nigeria Football Federation, said Dennerby, who is yet to be presented publicly in Nigeria, was considered for three reasons.
"First is to sustain and enhance the Super Falcons' dominance on the African scene; then, it is to take the Super Falcons and the other women teams to the next level of challenging for laurels at global competitions like the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup," Dikko said.
He noted the last reason was for Dennerby to generally lay the foundation for the real development of women's football in the west African country.
The newly appointed Swedish coach would live in Nigeria, according to the conditions of his contract which also enabled him to come into the job with an assistant, Jorgen Petersson.
"The assistant is another highly-experienced Swedish coach nominated by Dennerby himself," an official statement said.
Dennerby had coached the Swedish female senior team between 2005 and 2012, during which the team played at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
His team also played at the 2007 and 2011 FIFA World Cup finals, winning bronze at the latter tournament.
