Super Eagles
coach Gernot Rohr is not a happy man following last minute cancellation of
Super Eagles friendly against Burkina Faso at the Hive stadium in London.
An equally disappointed
CAF Executive Member and NFF President Amju Pinnick had recalled that Rohr had
insisted on playing tough and physical African opposition ahead of the
qualifiers, noting that the Glass House duly fulfilled that with arrangements
made for Senegal and Burkina Faso, but regretted the ugly turn of event, even
as he counted the blessings of the friendly already played.
“Unfortunately,
some of the Burkinabe players could not secure entry visas into the UK. It is
nobody’s fault. Our joy is that we were able to play Senegal and got a fair
result with a depleted squad, and also the objectives of team bonding, team building,
team discipline and further imparting the Technical Adviser’s philosophy to the
group have been well served, “he said
The visa
palaver is however not the only obstacle against the match as the schedule
appears to have also come short of FIFA rule which stipulates that teams cannot
play in two different continents within short intervals as the teams are
required to have at least a two day rest after travelling to another continent.
The
stallions lost 2-0 to Atlas Lions of Morocco at the Stade de Marrakech on
Friday. If the FIFA rule is to be followed it means the
team will have Saturday and Sunday to rest before heading to London and may not
be able to arrive early enough to face waiting Eagles.
Super Eagles
earned a late hour draw against Senegal on Thursday with Coach Gernot Rohr expressing
satisfaction with his team's performance.
The Monday match would have provided another opportunity to have a second
look at the team and newly introduced players as the technical crew seek a
formidable team ahead World cup and Nations Cup qualifiers against Cameroon,
Algeria and South Africa respectively.
