Meet Nigeria’s Handshake-Snubbing, No-Scouting, All-Praying Embarrassment of a Coach


Name: Edwin Okon

Home country: Nigeria

Known for: Coaching, snubbing, underpreparation

Why he might be a jerk: There are two basic rules that every professional soccer coach must follow: 1) Bring your own whistle, and 2) Win or lose, shake hands with the opposing coach after the game. While it’s very possible that Nigeria soccer coach Edwin Okon observes flawless whistle etiquette, he definitely needs to brush up on the second rule. After Nigeria lost to the United States 1–0 in a Group D Women’s World Cup match Tuesday night, Okon apparently refused to shake hands with American coach Jill Ellis, who approached Okon with her hand outstretched, only to be denied as Okon rose slowly from his seat while shaking his head “No.”

Maybe the video was just shot at a bad angle, and Okon was actually shaking his head “Yes”? Unlikely. After the game, Ellis confirmed that she had been snubbed:

The bench personnel shook my hand and the coach, I said, “You're not going to shake my hand?” He said, “No.” He kind of put his hand out a little bit, but that's his call, not mine.
Okon seems to make a lot of questionable calls. His team is wildly talented, and star forward Asisat Oshoala was recently named Women’s Footballer of the Year by the BBC. Yet Nigeria failed to win a match in this World Cup, and that probably has at least something to do with Okon’s commitment to overworking and underpreparing his players. Okon made zero substitutions during Nigeria’s 3–3 draw against Sweden, telling the press, “We did not make any substitutions and that is because the girl[s] are fit.” Fit, tired, call it what you want: Nigeria didn’t score again in the tournament.

The coach is not popular on soccer message boards, where his stewardship of the Nigerian national team has been compared with “a race car being driven by an old lady,” and where one vitriolic poster has dubbed him “that illiterate fat bellied no technical input no scouting all praying embarrassing coach.” This is unfair to Okon: I refuse to believe that the coach is illiterate. The “no scouting” bit is apparently true, though. Okon has repeatedly claimed that he doesn’t bother scouting the opposing teams.

“I’m a complete grassroots coach, and it’s always been a part of my philosophy,” he announced in December. “I don’t need to scout any team to take them on.” In a press conference on June 7 preceding Nigeria’s opening match against Sweden, Okon baffled a room of journalists by claiming that he knew nothing about the Swedish squad. I would not be surprised if Okon’s car sports a bumper sticker reading “God is my advance scout.” The coach is known for his demonstrative religiosity, dropping to his knees and touching his head to the turf in prayer every time his team scores a goal. “The Nigerian team is a praying team,” Okon informed the media after the Sweden match. In an April interview, Okon said, “God is here. He is the greatest player. He plays for the Super Falcons. Every match I call on him to help. He never disappoints. At the end of the day, success will always be ours.” And now Nigeria is out of the World Cup without having won a single match. So does that make God the jerk, or Okon? You tell me.

Why he might not be a jerk: I’m not sure if Okon is a jerk so much as he’s maybe just not as polished as we expect big-time coaches to be. His apparent refusal to shake Ellis’ hand was preceded by two other postgame sore-loser moments: After the Sweden match, Okon told the press that Sweden had scored two cheap goals, and after losing to Australia 2–0, Okon announced that he was unhappy with the officiating. These actions and statements come across as unsporting or at least impolitic. But you could make the argument that it’s better to have a coach who speaks his mind rather than simply resorting to uninformative platitudes. I’m sure that every coach thinks these sorts of things after his team loses a close match, but he never says them. Doesn’t that make them the jerks? No, probably not. But, still, Okon is entertaining—and it might be worth noting that when Okon eventually did make a substitution midway through Nigeria’s second match, the substitute player promptly elbowed an Australian forward in the jaw and ended up with a three-game suspension. Maybe Okon knows what he’s doing, after all.

Jerk score: I’m going to give him 2.5 out of 3 for style, entirely on the merits of the oddly brimmed hat he is wearing in this video clip. 1 out of 3 for technique, because a real jerk would have extended his own hand in response to Ellis, only to pull it away at the last second while screaming “Psych! Psych! Psych!” 2 out of 3 for consistency, because while Okon does drop to his knees without fail after every goal, he also eventually gets up. And 0 out of 1 in the category of “Is he a bigger jerk than Bill Belichick?” 5.5 for Edwin Okon.

What was wrong... was he dazed...shocked.... depressed... embarrassed...disgraced...NO! I don't think so..he simply lacks some etiquettes!

cow coach.

Is the guy a chrislam worshipper? Cuz I do not understand his head banging rituals in every match

If I were coach Edwin Okon I would have done worse than that. How do you expect me to have a hand shake of peace with those white dudes? When it was so glaring that every body was against us? Abi na only after de match FIFA or person de know peace? iiiiiiiiissssshhhhh. USA played 14 women against the Super Falcons; their 1st eleven, the croud and the referee (i.e The Corrupt FIFA). The referee was simply partial. Look at the way and manner she (Ref) threatened Ngozi Okobi when she tackled a US player lightly. She still went ahead and awarded the yellow card; She was just against Nigeria. I am suprised that uptil now so many ignorant and e-righteous and religious Nigerians in their normal hypocrisis are criticizing Coach Edwin Okon for refusing to have a hand shake with the US Coach, na by force?
How many of us called FIFA to order when our able right back Njoku was given a heavy ban of 3 matches and fine for a wrong/foul that so many players have committed and gone scout free? What about the case of Ogenyi Onazi during the 2014 FIFA world Cup in Brazil? What did FIFA do? I congratulate our coach for telling the referee, FIFA and the entire world that he was not please with the unfair officiating between the Super Falcons and the US WOMEN national team. Let it be on record that a Nigerian had the courage to do that. If Nigerians were this righteous, most of the problems that our economy has faced would have been in existence. Lets call our call all our past governors to release the monies they have stolen so that salaries will be paid and stop venting unnecessary anger on people that don't deserve it.
I refuse to accept racial abuse from the whites in any form it might come.
#Stop e-RighteousnessItWon'tHelpUs#
Qoute me if you think you are righteous and can control your temperament in a situation like this better than Coach Edwin Okon.