Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr has said he would not allow officials of the Nigeria Football Federation to influence the choice of players to be invited to the national team.
He said this on Tuesday while responding to questions concerning the new conditions to be included in his contract.
NFF president, Amaju Pinnick, had on Monday said the Franco-German coach would be mandated to reside in Nigeria and monitor domestic league match before he would be handed a contract extension.
But Rohr said he invited players based on merit, explaining that he was not bothered about the mood of officials when selecting his team.
Only Enyimba defender Ifeanyi Anaemena made Rohr’s 23-man squad from the domestic league after replacing Bryan Idowu for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches.
Rohr said, “I know he (Pinnick) sometimes has a different opinion like me but then, it is football. I never accept it to make a choice coming from the officials; my choice is the choice of sports arguments only, to take the best players.
“Unfortunately, we could not take more players from the local league because they did not play, so it was difficult for them to be fit.
“I know that some people cannot be happy about my choice but I can tell you it is my choice, it is always honest.”
While emphasising that he was determined to get the Eagles qualify for Cameroon 2021, he said, “I have to work, the contract is not a problem. I think by the end of the year, I will discuss with the NFF. No distraction for me, but it’s time for us to have a new project to win the next AFCON, we need to be at the next World Cup as well.”
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