The Minister for Youth and Sports in Nigeria says he will soon reconstitute the set up of the senior national team of Nigeria as his feud with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) deepens over the future of coach Gernot Rohr.
Dare want the Franco German coach of the team to be sacked but the NFF through it president Amaju Pinnick openly backed the coach insisting he has done well.
The minister is still reeling over the 4-4 draw against Sierra Leone after the team took a 4-0 lead. Dare is also unhappy that they fail to beat Sierra Leone in Freetown in the reverse tie.
In defence of Rohr, the NFF through Pinnick backed the coach insisting that he has done well in the years he has been in charge of the team starting from 2016.
That appears to have angered the minister who in a press statement threatened to dissolve the team and also hint at dropping some players from the team.
“We believe that when we hire a technical adviser; when we put our fate in the hands of some people, we expect some returns. If you hire a manager for your company and you don’t get the results you expect, you have the right to review your operation and take very critical decisions.
“My point is that we are going to sit back, review what has happened…we will review the entire team and whether the players are qualified or not to play for the team. Whether they are ready for this level of competition. We will also look at the technical adviser and also the entire people involved in football administration and the Super Eagles.
“You see when you fail to do the necessary checks, then you run the risk of repeating the same mistakes, failures and disappointments.”
Speaking further he played down any talks of interference from his part which could potentially earn a reprimand from FIFA insisting that it’s his duty as sports minister to oversee the affairs of the team carrying the image of the country.
“The Super Eagles represent Nigeria, sing Nigeria’s national anthem and wear Nigerian jerseys. So, without Nigeria as a sovereign country they have nobody to represent.
“When we look at their operations to make them better, it is no interference. They represent 200 million Nigerians and not any association or any individual. They carry our hopes and aspirations and as minister of sports of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, it is my responsibility to ensure that the interest of Nigerians is protected.
“To ensure that we have a football administration that serves the purpose, the vision and hopes of our country… we will review the way football is run in this country. It is not an interference; it will be a collective activity to make our football better.”
