Nigeria: FIFA Orders Payment of Over N156 Million to Rohr

After his unceremonious sack by the NFF as Super Eagles coach, Rohr was hoping to be awarded a bigger windfall by FIFA

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has less than 45 days to pay erstwhile Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr a ‘compensation’ fee of $378,000 (over N156m) or they risk incurring additional fines.

This follows the ruling by the world football governing body, FIFA in the arbitration between the Franco-German coach and the NFF.

PREMIUM TIMES, a fortnight ago, reported that FIFA had concluded its findings and would deliver its verdict on the $1m claims being made by Rohr from the NFF.

The NFF had offered to pay Rohr his salary till the end of his initially agreed contract, which was to run till December 2022 after sacking him just before the AFCON tournament in Cameroon.

But the 68-year-old felt unjustly sacked, having met all the terms in his contract and thus approached FIFA for a hefty compensation from the NFF.

However, the BBC reported on Monday that instead of the $1m claims by Rohr, the FIFA Committee approved less than $400,000 for the country’s longest-serving national team coach.

“Rohr, 68, had sought $1m, but has been granted $377,879.46 after a tribunal decided his claim was “partially accepted insofar as it is admissible,” the BBC report stated.

“If full payment (including all applicable interest) is not made within 45 days of notification of this decision, the respondent [the NFF] shall be imposed a restriction on receiving a percentage of development funding, up until the due amounts are paid,” the BBC further quoted a part of FIFA’s decision.

PREMIUM TIMES reliably gathered that the NFF will not appeal the verdict as the money ordered by the world football governing body is near the original extended salary payment planned for the sacked coach.

Rohr, who is Nigeria’s longest-serving coach, led the Super Eagles in 58 matches, winning 31, drawing 13, and losing 14.

Unfortunately, while many had expected Rohr’s exit to translate to better fortunes for Nigeria, that has not been the case as far as key results are concerned.

While Rohr led Nigeria to a third-place finish at the 2019 AFCON, the country did not make it beyond the Round of 16 two years after in Cameroon after the NFF drafted in Coach Austin Eguavoen as the interim manager.

It is understood that the NFF is already rounding off the recruitment process of bringing in another expatriate coach to take over the Super Eagles ahead of the qualifying matches for the 2023 AFCON tournament to be staged in Ivory Coast.

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