NFA parts company with Berti Vogts today

By Saliu Gbadamosi - 20.03.2008

Lagos State deputy governor, Mrs. Sarah
Sosan (left) presents the overall winner’s
trophy to the Ondo State team to this year’s
National School Sports Festival, Lagos
2008, at the closing ceremony held at the
Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos on
Tuesday. Photo: Niyi AlebiosuBARING any last minute hitch, German coach, Berti Vogts will today get a letter from the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) formally terminating his appointment as the head coach of the Super Eagles.

The country’s soccer-governing body had last month written the former Scotland coach informing him of its intention to part company with him, following the lacklustre performance of the Eagles at the Ghana 2008 Nations Cup, where the Nigerian side had its worst Nations Cup performance in over two decades.

The 30-day notice given Vogts, in accordance with the contract he signed with the NFA, expired on Wednesday and, an impeccable inside source informed Tribunesports that the body was expected to have sent the German his sack letter which he should get today.

“Following the expiration of the 30-day notice we gave Berti Vogts, he will be given the letter formally terminating his appointment on Thursday,”(today) the source stated. He further informed that the NFA was expecting a letter from Vogts as soon as he got his termination letter, acknowledging receipt of it as well as making any claims he had to make for settlement by the association.

“We expect that he gets in touch with the secretariat as soon as he gets his sack letter to make his claims known to us,” said the source, who would not want to be named.

Meanwhile, Tribunesports gatherd that the association would pay Vogts three months salary and a refund of 28,000 Euros he spent to procure some medical equipment for the Eagles during their pre-Nations Cup camping held in Malaga, Spain.

When Tribunesports contacted a member of the NFA board (names withheld), on phone on Wednesday, he said the board had done all that was expected of it, adding that it was left to the secretariat to play its part.

“We had given Vogts a 30-day notification as spelt out in the contract we signed with him. The implication of this is very clear”, he said.