The Chairman of the League Management Company (LMC), Shehu Dikko, has explain the reasons behind the new conditions inserted in the proposed new contract of the Nigeria’s Super Eagles manager, Gernot Rohr saying it is meant to trengthen the national team.
Dikko, who is the NFF’s second vice president, revealed that there were condition spelt out before Rohr signed his first contract with Nigeria, adding that the federation has now insisted that Rohr must accept the terms because the country needs to help the local league grow through the inclusion of some of the competition’s outstanding stars.
Dikko also argued that if the Franco-German spent more time in the country, he would appreciate the quality in the local league players and fashion out means of getting the best out of them
“I don’t understand why the recent pronouncement by NFF President, Amaju Pinnick is creating a lot of controversies.
“The president since January at different fora has announced this guideline during interactions with Journalists.
“The guidelines were there for Rohr to follow before he got his contract to coach the Super Eagles. Telling him that he will be paid in naira is the country’s financial policy.
“The NFF does not in any way have issues with Rohr. In fact, the coach has done a good job with the Super Eagles by assembling young and disciplined players eager to give a good account of themselves since he took charge of the Super Eagles. But he can’t continue to stay in Europe monitoring Nigeria’s foreign-based footballers,” he said.
According to Dikko, the NFF desires to keep Rohr in the country to help build the home-based players, adding, “for instance, if Rohr lives in the country he will have the opportunity to go round league venues, monitor players and pencil down the names of the ones that are outstanding.
“He will then open a home-based camp to be with these players for some days before they return to their various clubs for league assignments.
“With this arrangement, Rohr will be able to help build a team for CHAN and also discover more players that will contend with the foreign-based players. Nigeria has quality players in the league.
“When Rohr has a first-hand relationship with domestic players, he will be able to help the NFF to save cost,” he added.
Packaged by Lanre Olabisi
