The proposed plan of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to move the Super Eagles World Cup 2018 qualifiers from the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo has been rejected by coach Gernot Rohr.
Issues regarding logistics and attitude of the crowd made the NFF toy with the idea of moving Super Eagles’ home games from the stadium, amidst reports of the stadium being placed under a spell by aggrieved residents of the land, who are claiming their land was forcefully taken away from them to build the stadium.
Nigeria lost her last game at the stadium to South Africa 0-2 in their first AFCON 2019 qualifier, and their next competitive game which will be against Cameroon in the race to be at the World Cup 2018 was rumoured to have been shifted from the ground.
However, Super Eagles gaffer Gernot Rohr has kicked against the idea of moving the team from the Godswill Akpabio Stadium insisting it will affect the psychology of the players, who have taken the venue as their home.
”I am in constant touch with the team’s captain, Mikel Obi and other senior players and they all agree that the team remains in Uyo to finish all qualifiers. Changing the venue will put the boys under pressure. The players are at home with Uyo fans”, Rohr stated.
The coach insist that the pitch didn’t contribute to his team’s loss against South Africa as speculated by many, and wants them to remain in Uyo to finish both the World Cup 2018 and AFCON 2019 qualifiers as well.
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