Sports minister orders NFF to act on Rohr, wants NPFL players in Super Eagles

SPORTS minister Sunday Dare has told the Nigerian Football Federation to hold Super Eagles coach  Gernot Rohr to the terms of his contract following the team’s diappointing performances against Sierra Leone in recent Africa Cup  of Nations qualifiers.

The Super Eagles drew 4-4 in the first fixture in Benin City on 13 November after taking a 4-0 lead and failed to score in the reverse tie which ended 0-0 in Freetown last Tuesday.

Dare held a meeting with NFF officials on Tuesday to review the technical report of the qualifiers and other matters, and reminded the football body of the conditions included in the two-year contract extension Rohr signed earlier in the year.

One of the key conditions is for the coach to watch the Nigeria Professional Football League regularly with a view to given home-based players more chances in the national team.

“The recent dismal performance of the Super Eagles in their qualifiers against Sierra Leone has raised a few concerns and brought to fore the need to do a quick critique,” the sports minister said.

“The government, while concerned about the dismal performance and non discernible pattern of play and team harmony in the Super Eagles, is looking beyond the outcome of the Nigeria versus SIerra Leone  matches and AFCON.  We are looking at the present and future administration of football that speaks to the development of the front room and backroom. 

“The NFF must tightly hold the Technical Adviser to the KPIs in his contract. Thus, we cannot wait for those conditions to come to life, before we tighten the screws or demand a higher or better performance, better technical depth, better player mix and team harmony and a functional national team, else Nigeria and Football lovers in Nigeira will be the greatest losers.  In this area, NFF must take necessary steps and actions beyond Rohr to protect our football fortunes.”

Dare insisted that as the supervising body, his ministry has the responsibility to ensure the NFF is performing its functions optimally.

He added: “The federal government will ask the tough and relevant questions. The NFF should do the same.  The right of Nigerians to ask of Government and indeed NFF explanations for dismal performances and football administration cannot be simply characterized as interference. On our part, we will work to support the NFF but we will also demand for answers and changes too on behalf of Nigerians. CAF and FIFA while we appreciate their working partnerships are expected to support Nigeria in its quest to ensure  an effectual football administration. 

“Football is now both business and politics. A tool of diplomacy. Governments are more than interested in how its run. The FGN is interested even beyond that. Football is a source of national pride. A rallying point and promoter of peace and unity. “Nigeria at this point must use the opportunity of the the outcome of the Nigeria/Sierra Leone March to X-ray the other factors beyond the Technical Adviser that must have contributed to the dismal performance. We must raise the necessary interrogatories about the general administration around the team, the absence of local content or home based  players in the team, the domestic league development  and growth, issues of ethics, nutrition, Psychology,  content  and so on.”

The minister, who had threatened to ‘do the needful’ regarding Rohr’s employment in the aftermath of the AFCON qualifiers, insisted that better performances must be demanded from Rohr and his crew.

“NFF should be more concerned about the failure of technical depth and absence of a defence mechanism which were glaring during the encounter with Sierra Leone rather than the rush to defend the contract of the Technical Adviser,” he said. 

“Starting now, Nigeria must demand a higher or better performance from the technical adviser. We can’t wait until he fails to qualify our team for AFCON and the World Cup before we start to ask the tough questions. In this respect, I charge the NFF leadership to immediately take necessary steps to protect our football fortunes working with the ministry.” 

The NFF President, Amaju Pinnick, assured Dare that the NFF will continue to carry out its responsibilities. He promised that the NFF would look into the minister’s suggestions. 

Some of Dare’s suggestions include a Super Eagles administrative structure that will include a physical trainer, nutritionist, a psychologist and two match readers or more, as well as the inclusion of three to four Nigeria Professional Football League players into the Super Eagles squad.

He also asked the NFF to enforce the clause in Rohr’s contract that demands the coach to watch weekly NPFL games.