NFF won’t impose Nigerian league players on Rohr, says Pinnick

President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Amaju Pinnick has said that the federation will not force home-based players on the Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr.

Pinnick had reportedly said in a recent interview that the federation would put a clause in the coach’s new contract that would make it mandatory for him to include local players in his team’s selection.

But the NFF boss while clarifying his earlier statement on Fans zone, a radio sports programme in Lagos, said the plan is to make the head coach fully part of the federation’s football development plan.

“I have never said that,” Pinnick insisted, adding that: “If you look at the model Westerhof adopted, he goes out to watch the league matches, picks some of the players and he molds them to world stars. Those are the gospel we are preaching and that does not mean we want to impose players on him.


“But why not, if he sees good players that can fit in the Super Eagles from the league I don’t think there is any issue. We are not going to impose and we are not ready to that. And the coach should be ready to take responsibility for anything happen to the team too.”

The NFF boss also hinted that the federation would open new contract talk with Rohr in January and if the coach agree with the clauses in the new contract the deal would be signed and made public.