The General Secretary of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Dr Sanusi Mohammed has revealed that the contract talks between the federation and Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has been put on hold to enable the two parties focus on the upcoming 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers in March.
Sanusi said that the qualifiers were so important that the NFF would not allow the contract issue to distract the football house from its onerous task of qualifying for both tournaments, adding that 2019 was not good for Nigerian football because of distractions.
He said: “As far as I know, Coach Gernot Rohr still has a contract with the football house till June2020 as such we don’t want to be distracted.
“Our focus should be on beating Sierra Leone in the Nations Cup qualifier to be played between March 23rd and 31st as well as the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifier against Benin Republic to be held between June 1st and 9th.
“Football has gone scientific and every nation either small or big can’t be underrated. Rohr knows he has a contract with the federation and he must work till the end of the contract.
“When the football house is ready, the two parties will sit and agree on terms but for now, let’s focus on winning our matches,” Sanusi said.
The former head of NFF Competition Department further said Rohr was not oblivious of the challenges ahead, adding all issues surrounding the contract will be sorted out after the game against Sierra Leone in March.
“Rohr has done well with our senior national team by building confidence in them but there is room for improvement and we have to go beyond qualifiers,” Sanusi said.
“Last year was not good and this year, the federation will ensure that Nigerians smile by winning trophies. Also, we have to pray for good draws for the World Cup qualifiers because every nation want to play at the AFCON or World Cup,” noted Sanusi.