Frenchman Paul Le Guen has been appointed to lead Nigeria in their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign, the country's football federation said in a statement on Monday.
Le Guen, who has the official title of technical adviser, will be assisted by Nigerian Salisu Yusuf as chief coach. The appointments are subject to the pair agreeing personal terms.
Le Guen, 52, played for Brest, Nantes and Paris Saint Germain and won 17 caps for France. He led Cameroon to the 2010 World Cup finals.
He has managed club sides Stade Rennes, Olympique Lyonnais, who he led to three Ligue 1 titles between 2002 and 2005, PSG and Scottish club Rangers as well as Oman’s national team.
Yusuf, capped at under-20 level by Nigeria, was in charge of his country on an interim basis for two international friendly matches in Europe at the end of May, both of which ended in victory.
Le Guen’s first major challenge is a World Cup qualifier away to Zambia on October 3 in a tough Group B which includes Africa’s top-ranked side Algeria and Cameroon who, along with Nigeria, also went to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.
Nigeria have a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Tanzania in September but have already failed for the second successive time to reach the finals with the three-times African champions now a lowly 70th in the Fifa world rankings.
Former manager Sunday Oliseh resigned in February accusing Nigeria of contract violations and failing to pay his wages with the former World Cup player having only taken the job in July.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
