QUALIFY F/EAGLES FOR WORLD CUP, GET CONTRACT EXTENSION

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), has disclosed that it can only renew the one-month contract given to Flying Eagles' expatriate coach, Manfred Bender, if the team qualifies for the FIFA World Youth Championship in Columbia.

Fielding questions from Daily Sunsports in Abuja, the acting secretary general of the federation, Barr Musa Amadu, however, reminded the John Obuh-tutored Flying Eagles that picking one of the tickets to the Columbia tourney was sacrosanct, reminding him they did not go to the South Africa AYC to participate.

Asked why the GlassHouse opted for foreign coach in the mid of the arrays of competent Nigerian coaches, Barr Amadu said: 'With due respect to the Coaches Association of Nigeria, there is good reason the federation decided to hire a physical trainer for the Flying Eagles and technical assistant to the coach of the Super Falcons on a short term.

'The idea for the Flying Eagles was really to use the services of a very competent professional to prepare the team physically and ensure that it receives the best technical boost from the person that is very knowledgeable in the game.

'It took us a while to identify Manfred Bender, who we know played for Hertha Berlin during his playing days. He was on a very short contract that was supposed to last for two months but for the postponement of the AYC from Libya to South Africa, we had to extend his deal by one month which ends this month.

'He only joined the team to bring the boys to the peak of their physical level and conditioned them to perform very well.