Super Eagles coach, Gernot Rohr has stated that he would have loved to hold his pre-Africa Cup of Nations camp in Abuja before heading out to Egypt, as it would be symbolic to train at home and get a befitting send-forth, sports247.ng reports.
However, Rohr is apprehensive of the facilities on offer in Abuja, which he fears would rule the Federal Capital Territory out of hosting the Eagles’ final camp, but says North Africa remains a plausible option.
The Franco-German tactician also hinted at the possibility of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) arranging a camp for the squad in Southern Europe, but all pointers were looking better for North Africa.
The choice of North Africa could mean the Eagles heading out to Rabat, Morocco, where the home-based squad and youth national teams have been camped in recent months.
The NFF might eventually settle for Rabat, considering that it would accord the Eagles benefits of proximity with the AFCON 2019 hosts, Egypt, with valuable opportunities of acclimatisation and less logistics.
At the same time, the NFF have a bilateral technical agreement with the Moroccan FA, which could be extended into a pact for the Eagles to try out the camp they enjoyed before their AFCON qualifier against Libya.
Rohr admitted: “If the stadium in Abuja is not fixed on time, then we will have to go in search of alternatives.
“It should either be in a North African or Southern Europe, where it will be easier to assemble our players that ply their trade in Europe.”
