BEVERLY HILLS, November 24, (THEWILL) – The Ministry of Youth and Sports Development which oversees the affairs of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) has asked the Federation to hold Gernot Rohr, the Technical Adviser of the Super Eagles, to the higher standards contained his contract.
This comes as a fallout of the team’s disappointing double-header draws against the Leone Stars of Sierra Leone in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers this month.
Sunday Dare, the honourable Minster of Youth and Sports Development, expressed this plainly to the NFF officials at a meeting on Tuesday to review the Technical Report of the Nigeria/Sierra Leone AFCON Qualifiers and related issues.
The Minister was candid, “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 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 did not mince words about the need for interoperability amongst all parties involved for the purpose of good football while negating the charge of interference.
“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 characterised 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.”
The Minister made it clear he was looking at a wholesome approach to the problems.
“Nigeria at this point must use the opportunity of the the outcome of the Nigeria/Sierra Leone March to xray 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.
“NFF should be more concerned about the failure of technical depth and absence of a defense mechanism which were glaring during the encounter with Sierra Leone rather than the rush to defend the contract of the Technical Adviser.”
Then, Dare laid down the challenge for the Federation.
“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 MYSD.”
In his response, Amaju Pinnick, President of the NFF, began by providing a background to what happened. Then, he assured the Minister of the determination of the Federation to not shirk in its responsibilities. Pinnick admitted that a few changes and adjustments as discussed and suggested by the Ministry will be put into motion.
These changes and adjustments compose of administrative adjustments that will include providing the Super Eagles with a physical trainer, a nutritionist, a psychologist and two or more competent and experienced match readers.
Also included in the recommendations is the need to inject three to four home-based players into the Super Eagles squad picked from the professional league. To arrive at these players, the Technical Adviser must watch weekly Nigerian Professional Football League (NPFL) games.
The NFF is also required to evolve a scientific template to benchmark the performance of the Technical Adviser and the Team for regular performance checks. In all, the NFF was mandated to operate Rohr’s contract as an active document and hold the Technical Adviser to a much higher standard.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
