Nigeria World Cup star Efe Sodje has slammed the country’s football federation for paying new Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr $47,000 as monthly salary.
The German signed a two-year contract with the Nigeria Football Federation, which will be financed by an oil and gas company. Rohr would be assisted by three others – an adviser, a fitness trainer and a video specialist, with reports saying he would be responsible for their salaries.
“When Shuaibu Amodu, Stephen Keshi and Sunbday Oliseh were in charge of the team, they weren’t paid such amount. They honour people here (England), but they don’t in Nigeria.Here the FA is concerned about their own people but we keep letting our own people down,” Sodje, who represented Nigeria at the 2000 World Cup said, said in a telephone interview.
“We should respect our own people. Nobody knows him (Rohr) but they gave him the crucial job of taking us to the World Cup. Why didn’t they take the same risk on Nigerian coaches? If you put this man down amongst five white men, no Nigerian will know him. But put Salisu (Yusuf) or Samson Siasia among five blacks and Nigerians will know him. So why don’t we go for who we know?”
Sodje, a member of the Eagles squad that reached the final of the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil, also challenged the federation to make the contract with the German public.
The UEFA B Licence coach added, “They said he will pay the other people he’s bringing from the $47,000. They should tell us how much he (Rohr) will personally earn from the money. Didn’t Keshi and Oliseh bring their own assistants too? Were they paid the same amount? Let them show us the full details of the contract.
“If a private firm is paying the coach, then what is the NFF doing? Who will pay the local people who are part of the backroom staff? It’s a funny development and a shame that we still haven’t changed after so many years. There is Siasia and Emmanuel Amuneke, these are big names. Why can’t we bring them to manage the national team?”
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