Power to the people as Nigeria federation lets fans decide coach's future

Peseiro has led his side to the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Ivory Coast starting in January

Lisbon, Portugal (Reuters) - Nigeria coach Jose Peseiro's job is in the hands of the fans after football federation (NFF) president Ibrahim Gusau said he will let them decide if the Portuguese should stay on.

Peseiro, who has coached Porto and Sporting in his home country and took over Nigeria in May last year, has led his side to the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Ivory Coast starting in January but his contract ends on June 30.

There is now a national debate over whether the 63-year-old should be retained and Gusau said the people can decide. "We have the plan to push the votes to Nigerians to hear their views and thoughts," Gusau said on the LovingFootball radio show. "We've tried the foreign coaches and also the local coaches.

"Maybe we didn't get it right in the area of getting the right person. We are going to push it to the public, whether we should continue with Peseiro or he should go."

Despite Nigeria's continental qualification, results have been mixed under Peseiro even as he has been able to select from an array of players plying their trade in Europe’s top leagues. Since failing to qualify for last year's World Cup in Qatar, Nigeria have won four and lost five of their games.