The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, has revealed the Nigeria Football Federation could sack Super Eagles Head coach Gernot Rohr if he doesn’t meet the target of leading the Super Eagles to the 2022 FIFA World Cup and winning the next 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) title in Cameroon.
On Wednesday, the President of the NFF Amaju Pinnick confirmed the 66-year-old Franco-German former Bayern Munich defender Rohr has been handed a new deal and explained Rohr has been given new targets in his contract.
Now Dare, says there are clauses in Gernot Rohr’s new contract which gives the NFF permission to fire him if he doesn’t meet them.
“The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is statutorily in charge of the growth and development of football in Nigeria. Of course under the supervision of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.”
Dare said in an interview with NTA’s Executive Discourse published on the NFF’s official website.
” Even before I became Minister, there are processes and procedures that are followed when it comes to bringing on a new national coach or renewing the contract of a coach who is already in the house and I think it was important for us to follow the processes and procedures in place.”
“For Rohr, because he had been signed on earlier, he deserved to be given the right of first refusal, that was what the NFF did and that was what I also allowed to happen. It is best practices, it is global practices but the NFF also had a review of his performance in the last three to four years and based on that review, his new contract had new conditions that never existed before. Some of them bordering on mode of payment, some of them bordering technical issues regarding the development of our football and that to me, is fundamental.”
He added “For Rohr to have come in, he must have been world standard,”
“With the conditions we have put in, I think it’s only fair to let him continue if he has accepted, but then again, we are going to warn him [Rohr] to a great standard of responsibility, a greater depth in our football and a greater level of success.
“In that contract, there are points that if he does not meet the desired standard, we can terminate his contract. So we are not stuck with him. He has an opportunity to prove himself.
“Even if we bring in the best coach in the world, we will set the same standard for him, and if those expectations are not met, we will show him the door.
“We will let this play out, he has also made promises that things will get better and I think we will just wait and see what happens eventually.”
