Ethiopia’s National Soccer Team playing against Morocco.  Photo: REUTERS/Rafael Marchante(MOROCCO)

Source, APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) The Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) on Monday officially signed a one year contract with a British coach who will train the Ethiopian national soccer team.

The new coach, Efem Onura, 43, will be paid a monthly salary of $13,000, together with free telephone, housing and automobile for his stay in Ethiopia and free air tickets twice a year to travel to his country.

While signing the agreement, Sahilu Gebrewolde, president of EFF said that the coach’s salary and other expenses will be covered by MIDROC Ethiopia, a company owned by Ethiopian tycoon, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Alamodin, who is running billions of dollars worth of investments in various sectors in Ethiopia, including the Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa.

The new coach is said to have ‘A’ level in coaching with many years of experience.

It is the first time that the Ethiopian national team hires a foreign coach with such huge amount of money.

In the past, the federation hired far less expensive foreign coaches. However, no improvements had been made to the Ethiopian football, and the country has for a long time been unable to qualify even for African Nations Cup.

The EFF hopes that the new coach will help the national team in its preparations for the 2012 African Nations Cup qualifiers.

“We have professional coaches who deserved to coach our national team, but they are not given due attention,” said one coach who refused to be named.

According to this coach, wasting such a huge amount of money on a foreign coach would not bring any positive change to the country’s football.

“I am supporting the Sheikh’s effort to help Ethiopian football, but I believe the man should have given such amount for the hiring of a local coach, which would have been more meaningful than paying it to a foreign coach,” he added.

Ethiopia has identified around 50 players for preparations for the 2012 African Nations Cup qualifiers.