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Sports ministry demands WCQ technical report from NFF before Rohr decision

THE sports ministry has ordered that it must be consulted before the Nigeria Football Federation takes any decision on the fate of Gernot Rohr.

The NFF is considering sacking the Super Eagles head coach and is already undertaking a search for the German’s replacement.

However, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Alhaji Ismail Abubakar, has directed the NFF to submit the technical report of the last phase of the 2021 World Cup qualifiers to the ministry.

“The report must be on the table of the Honourable Minister of Youth and Sports Development on Monday, the 22nd of November, 2021,” Abubakar said in a statement on Sunday.

Although the Super Eagles have reached the African playoffs of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, their performances against less accomplished teams like Liberia, Cape Verde and Central African Republic have been underwhelming.

A  highly-placed sports ministry source said the NFF is aware of the need to carry the ministry along in any decision as weighty as the firing and hiring of the head coach of the senior national team.

Despite its purported independence, the NFF still relies heavily on the federal government, through the sports ministry, for funding.

“The NFF knows that any plan to employ another coach must start with first briefing the minister and the federal government about the Rohr issue,” the sports ministry source said.

“They must act in such a way that will not embarrass Nigeria. 

“The decision to hire anybody as national coach must be discussed and must undergo review. The Super Eagles is Nigeria’s property not a Premier League club.”

Rohr was appointed in 2016 and led the Super Eagles to the Russia 2018 World Cup, where they crashed out in the first round, and the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, where they finished third.

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