Nigeria coach Rohr sets to sign new contract

Abuja (AFP) – Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr will sign a new contract next week after agreeing terms to extend his four-year stay with one of Africa’s football powerhouses, the national football body said Tuesday.

During the new two-year contract, Rohr will be expected to lead Nigeria to qualification for a seventh World Cup finals and the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

“The executive committee mandated the general secretary to liase with Super Eagles technical adviser, Gernot Rohr, with a view to concluding all matters around his new contract within the next one week,” the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said in a statement in Abuja.

Rohr, 66, has been in charge of the three-time African champions since 2016. 

The former Niger and Gabon coach led Nigeria to the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations staged in Egypt, where the team placed third.

Top officials have insisted on inserting new provisions in the contract such as paying Rohr in local currency as against his current 45,000 euro ($49,000) monthly salary.

He is also expected to spend more time living in Nigeria itself.

The Franco-German national has been credited with assembling a young team made up of players who had previously represented their adopted countries at age-group levels.

However, his critics argued that he has continued to overlook players from the domestic league in his squad.

Rohr’s defence is that Nigeria’s best players are based in Europe.