TheCable

Gernot Rohr, Super Eagles head coach, has tackled the Confederation of African Football (CAF) over its unfair fixtures for the qualifying games ahead of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).

The Eagles will be hoping to start their qualification campaign with victory over the Squirrels of Benin Republic at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium on Wednesday.

They will also face Lesotho in an away fixture four days later.

“I think CAF drew up this schedule. It’s not a good decision because there is no respect for the players. There can be injuries,” Rohr told TheCable.

“Some of them travelled in the night. CAF hasn’t done well by not respecting the coaches and players. Other countries are affected too.

“We must be able to adopt our training programs to this short time. There is only one training with all the players and we have to put together those that will start the match.”

The players started to show up in camp on Monday ahead of the all important clash with Benin Republic.

“The players had one training today (Monday). Some players arrived after a long trip. We will have one more training session on Tuesday,” he added.

The coach also gave updates on the absence of Brain Idowu, Lokomotiv Moscow defender, and preparations for the tests with Benin Republic and Lesotho.

“Brown Idowu will be missing due to passport issues. We have called up Ifeanyi Anaemena to replace him. We will have 23 players for the two matches,” he said.

Rohr added that the team is happy to return to Uyo for their matches.

The last time the Super Eagles played a competitive match in Uyo, they lost to South Africa.

“We are happy to be back in Uyo, which is a wonderful place. We like this place because the conditions are good for training and the hotel. The players are happy to be back in Uyo,” he added.