German coach Gernot Rohr has expressed concerns that Nigeria may risk self-destruction if the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) fails to make the right and firm decision regarding the contract of Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro.
The NFF has been indecisive about extending the contract of the Portuguese coach, whose initial one-year contract ended on June 30. NFF President Ibrahim Gusau was widely quoted on a radio program stating that a contract extension would be determined based on popular fans’ votes.
Reacting to this approach, Rohr, the former foreign manager of the Super Eagles who is currently attached to The Cheetahs of Benin Republic, described it as “unusual.” He emphasized that the NFF should avoid making decisions solely based on popularity.
“I have not seen anything like that before, and this is very unusual,” Rohr said. “It is left for the NFF to make the right decision, and sometimes good decisions are not always popular. But if you take a popular decision, you’ll make mistakes,” he added, referring to his own controversial exit from Nigeria.
Ahead of the play-off for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, the NFF replaced Rohr with interim coach Austin Eguavoen, but the Super Eagles failed to qualify as Ghana secured one of the continental slots. The team also disappointed in the subsequent AFCON in Cameroon, exiting in the second round to Tunisia despite winning all three first-round matches.
Looking ahead, the Super Eagles have been drawn in Group C for the CAF qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, alongside Rohr’s current team, Benin Republic, as well as South Africa, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, and Lesotho.
However, Rohr fears that the team may face setbacks in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers and next year’s AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire if the NFF makes another erratic decision regarding the coach’s contractual agreement with Peseiro.
“Sometimes, you have to make good decisions which are not popular,” Rohr further emphasized. “Of course, I should be concerned because I still have good contacts with a lot of people in Nigeria. Personally, I felt so bad that Nigeria could not make it to the last World Cup in Qatar because we had a good team at that moment, but for that poor decision; but all that is in the past now,” he concluded.
