Super Eagles players would not mind playing their last 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Lesotho at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo, according to head coach Gernot Rohr.
Rohr is however aware that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has the final say on the choice of venue.
Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos will host the encounter between the three-time African kings and the Crocodiles on March 30.
The Super Eagles played their last home game against the Leone Stars of Sierra Leone at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City.
Read Also: Rohr Inspects Teslim Balogun Stadium Ahead Lesotho Clash
“The second game, we will do it in Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos,” Rohr told ESPN.
“We know that this is a very special occasion with the pandemic, and we cannot have the usual [venue in] Uyo.
“But my players they like Uyo because of the facilities, because of the stadium.”
The Teslim Balogun stadium, which has recently undergone a facelift, with the artificial turf replaced by grass, was the last place the Super Eagles played in Lagos.
They recorded a 2-1 friendly win over Sierra Leone in 2011.
By Adeboye Amosu
27 Comments
I know l have been saying this from day one that Uyo is the right place to play the most important International matches as the NFF may soon discover that many of the European clubs may likely not release their players in view of the poor state of these ‘yeye’ stadiums they have all over the places. FIFA will agree with the Clubs if in case NFF appeal to the World Body for help. Osimhen is still recovering from the injury he sustained while playing in that Ogbemudia Stadium though he himself succeeded adding ‘salt’ to that injury at his birthday party in Lagos without putting on mask. If you think Napoli will release Osimhen easily without a fight, then you might not have known how much $70 million dollars is.
Do they have choice, was he only osimhen that will get injured playing for his country, it’s not even an issue all clubs are meant to release players for international assignment , be it 10bil dollars player, nothing like fight in this scene they must nd they will release according to fifa rules, very simple logic
I Know NFF go use Pademic as excuse for corruption, come o Make I ask una, so Pandemic no do reach Lagos Abi?? Abeg Make we hear word ye ye corrupt NFF
Those guys are tribalistic in nature
I also prefer Uyo to any other stadium ..
You people did not get the message. Oga Rohr and his team are afraid of the fans in Lagos and NFF Knew that if the match takes place in Lagos, the players and the Coaches of Super Eagles would be more serious than ever before.
You score 1 goal in Lagos and the fans will tell you they still want more.
The 4:4 draw against Leone star wouldn’t have happened if the match took place in Lagos. We are not God in Lagos but we are passionate about football in that state.
The pitch in Tesilim Balogun’s stadium is good enough to host the match.
Uyo is good no doubt but for now Lagos is taking over.
The fans won’t be allowed to enter the stadium because of the Covid-19 pandemic but still, they will give their supports to the team.
I think what is happening is that the coaches and the players are aware of Lagos and they are feeling the heat of the Lagos already because there’s no room for errors in Lagos.
Eagles has come to stay in Lagos period.
I hope the main stadium in Surulere will be ready in time to host our dear national team, Super Eagles.
Once in a while, Super Eagles can go to Uyo and other places in Nigeria but Lagos is the home of the Super Eagles. God bless Nigeria!!!
Chai, thank God say na for internet u dy talk this nonsense, if not, I for give you one dirty hamper slap wey go size you. Your stupidity here on this forum is becoming too much I must confess. What monsense? I can’t imagine that someone like you still exits on earth.
Your sense no reach critical level.
Uyo Stadium is probably the only world class stadium we have.
You think intimidating your own players brings out the best in them?
Dazz wai you no get sense.
According to late Fela Kuti….’basket mouth don open mouth again o’
Omo9ja 2 days ago:
“….Football is not politics now. Perhaps, Oga Rohr is not helping the situation too. NFF keep pushing him around as if he is doing them a favor. Instead of him to tell NFF that Super Eagles have to have a permanent home instead of moving the team from one state to another but he continue dancing to their tones….”
Rohr goes on to indicate his and the players’ preference for Uyo which the entire world knows is the BEST STAIDUM in Nigeria, the closest any of our stadiums are to what our players use on weekly basis in Europe, Omo9ja switches to “….Oga Rohr and his team are afraid of the fans in Lagos…”
Its rather unphantomable how a normal human being’s brain can just flipflop from 1 to 0 to -1 and back to 0 and 1 like a cosine curve.
One moment…Ighalo is not the type of striker we need in the SE. The next moment…Rohr should teach Osimhen how to play like Ighalo.
One moment….Rohr should make Okoye the SE no 1 goalkeeper. The next moment…..How can Rohr pronounce Okoye as SE no1 goalkeeper.
One moment….Rohr allows himself to be pushed around by NFF. The next moment…Rohr does not want to move to Lagos because he is afraid of Lagos fan.s
Senselessness nor just get medicine…!
Lol@drey… Me I tired. That guy must be a foolish genius of stupidity… Lol… Ikegwuru..
Oga what are you saying naa? Do you even read what you type before you post? Which heat are you talking about when there will be no fans in the stadium
you no go know good things for your life this for thing when you talk so, because you just hate someone you go just they talk any how.
Ayisinle ologbo, iledile ekute for Oga Rohr followers. This is a typical example of Nigeria situation.
Don’t ask why Nigeria is not moving forward. I can tell from you people.
Let me start from Drey and Oakfield. Why both of you keep misleading people on this forum?
No doubt Uyo is the best venue at the moment but what is on ground now is beyond that level.
Nigerians needed the seriousness of our team more than ever before, it’s not about the stadium.
The pitch against Leone star wasn’t okay but Eagles scored 4 goals and they played the second leg on a terrible pitch which the encounter ended 0:0.
What went wrong? Seriousness and wrong tactics of Oga Rohr period.
Oga Rohr fans are like Nigerian government while I omo9ja a typical of Showore lol.
So, NFF did not know that Uyo was there before Teslim Balogun was chosen abi?
Who is deceiving who between Oga Rohr, NFF and his fans?
This is why I said you know nothing about football Drey, Oakfield and their group. The best thing NFF could do is to bring the best of out of Oga Rohr’s team by taking the team to Lagos.
If you don’t understand read this then you will understand why Eagles have to play this match in
“Nigeria’s largest city Lagos will host a competitive men’s senior football match for the first time in 20 years on 30 March.
The Super Eagles will take on Lesotho in their final 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Teslim Balogun stadium.
Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) officials say that the number of fans allowed in to the stadium to watch the match depends on the Confederation of African Football’s Covid-19 protocols at the time.
The last competitive game Nigeria played in Lagos was a 1-0 Nations Cup qualifying win over Zambia in January 2001, while 10 years later there was a 2-1 friendly win over Sierra Leone at the Teslim Balogun venue.
March’s game could see Lagos once again becoming a permanent home for the Super Eagles according to sports minister Sunday Dare who is keen to refurbish the dilapidated National Stadium in Lagos.
“This city is excited to host the country’s first competitive fixture in 20 years in a place where the team rarely lose,” chairman of the Lagos State Sports commission, Sola Aiyepeku, told BBC Sport Africa
“Everything is geared towards making Lagos the home base again, because there’s a presence that this place has and demand that the fans have towards the opposition that puts them in fear.
“We want the Nigeria fear factor that this city has to return and put that in the hearts and souls of teams that come here.”
Confident despite Covid-19
The city is also confident that it can put in all the necessary measures for the game despite the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s an unprecedented time to host the national team but wherever you go there is still the coronavirus, so it will definitely dampen probably the number of people,” NFF vice president and Lagos FA boss Seyi Akinwunmi added.
“Despite the huge logistic problems that comes with these challenging times, Lagos state has proven that it can manage the pandemic more than most states in the country.
“The state has all the capacity, the hotels, state of the art ambulances, hospitals and everything which is an added reason for the country to come to Lagos.
“It’s been a challenging year for the world in terms of football, but the country’s most famous state is delighted to welcome the Eagles back home where they’ve enjoyed a remarkable success.”
Touring Eagles
The Super Eagles have been playing their internationals around the country since the end of the 20th century when the cash-strapped Nigerian Football Association (now NFF) decided to approach cities interested in hosting international games.
Financial support, usually provided by the governors who host the national team in their states, saw the Eagles move around to Port Harcourt, Abuja, Kano, Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Delta State.
The Abuja and Lagos National Stadiums, as well as dozens of others that dot Nigerian cities, have become white elephants furthering emphasising a sad reminder of Nigeria’s poor maintenance culture”.
The purpose of bringing this match to Lagos is simple. We want to qualify to Afcon.
I’m a bit busy I can’t reply you all one by one but chai, no worries. God bless Nigeria!!!
Lol this one na epistle
@Omo9ja you are nothing more than an ethnic bigot. The whole world knows uyo stadium is the best in Nigeria at the moment in terms of modern facilities and the pitch. Which one come be Taslim balogun stadium? That advance secondary school stadium? Even the new stadium Akwa Ibom as a state is building at eket, that expired stadium at Lagos can’t be compared to it. Your reasoning is too primitive brother. What makes you feel the fans can intimidate the players. Have SE not lost many matches in Lagos before? I mean important matches. Grow up boy.
U can tell the players love playing in Uyo by the way they dismantle teams there, Uyo is by far the best stadium in the country.
It seems like the Super Eagles coach read my comment last time. Take the match to Uyo and beat these guys silly. S/L wouldn’t have equalised that game if we had played the match in Uyo. Smaller African countries don’t like to play in big stadia. You could see that S/L took the return leg to a smaller pitch in their home soil in order to defeat Nigeria. I’ve got a lot of things, administratively, to tell the NFF but I cannot here.
According to late Fela Kuti….’basket mouth don open mouth again o’
Omo9ja 2 days ago:
“….Football is not politics now. Perhaps, Oga Rohr is not helping the situation too. NFF keep pushing him around as if he is doing them a favor. Instead of him to tell NFF that Super Eagles have to have a permanent home instead of moving the team from one state to another but he continue dancing to their tones….”
Rohr goes on to indicate his and the players’ preference for Uyo which the entire world knows is the BEST STAIDUM in Nigeria, the closest any of our stadiums are to what are players use on weekly basis in Europe, Omo9ja switches to “….Oga Rohr and his team are afraid of the fans in Lagos…”
Its rather unphantomable how a normal human being’s brain can just flipflop from +1 to 0 to -1 and back to 0 and +1 like a cosine curve.
One moment…Ighalo is not the type of striker we need in the SE. The next moment…Rohr should teach Osimhen how to play like Ighalo.
One moment….Rohr should make Okoye the SE no 1 goalkeeper. The next moment…..How can Rohr pronounce Okoye as SE no1 goalkeeper.
One moment…Rohr is a lame duck who is allowing himself to be pushed around, Instead of him to tell NFF that Super Eagles have to have a permanent home….the next moment, Rohr is scared of moving to lagos because of the fans.
Its quite unfortunate, Senselessness nor just get medicine…I for recommend some!
@Linkin…..abeg help us ask him which fans Rohr and his team are afraid of (if his brain is working at all) when the stadium will be empty. LMAO. Abi na spirits go come watch the match…?? When nor be Anthony Ujah wey get stage fright for inside near empty stadium…LMAO…according to oga jimmy….Lolz
roha should be careful they want to take his team to an average pitch, so his team can perform poorly, then they will call for his sack. Be careful roha there are many evil ppl around you be careful
Rohr is the messiah.
But former player like oliseh said the super eagles should be returned to Lagos.
Forget that , uyo sibthe best stadium in the country for now
@omo9ja…..
To me omo9ja is a comic guy….
Not that he doesn’t know the truth, but he just choose to creat some scene for fun….
Don’t ever take him and his post serious…..
He’s more of a joker….
Infact he’s a sword with 2 sharp edge….
I repeat; “DON’T EVER TAKE OMO9JA SERIOUS ELSE YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN”……
The only problem is the way he’s misleading the gullible and ignorant on this forum…..
Finally; don’t ever take @omo9ja serious…. Fullstop.
:::::SHALOM:::::
ahahahaha@omo9ja your hatred for GERNOT ROHR is really doing you no good……you have become so inconsistent,disgusting nd stupid especially when the hatred is towards someone who has not done too badly……the records are there for you to verify……please avoid high blood pressure ooo
@Lanre… You could voice your opinion on people’s post without insulting them directly. The diverse views and fun we create here arguing up our opinions are what make the forum a family. Afterall we are all for Super Eagles and Nigeria getting better and thick. Calling @Omo9ja stupid is a serious low… Please eschew decorum. @Omo9ja remains a stoic member here always with his own gingered and peppered view. I know you like to worship @Dr.Drey… Some of us like to call him out for a seeming Rohr-cult he has set up here… hahaha! One love…
But Dr drey you would have passed for a very good lawyer,that i am,or investigative journalist than the chemical engineer that you are, because the way you floor all these liars nd haters arguments is rather interesting nd comely?…….all of a sudden TESLIM BALOGUN STADIUM has become better than the NEST OF CHAMPIONS solely because Gernot Rohr EXPRESSED PREFERENCE FOR IT……haters should go get life