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By Our Correspondent With Agency Report

Ahead of the September 27 Nigeria Vs Algeria international friendly match, Super Eagles coaches have boycotted the match and will not be on the bench when the two former African champions clash in Oran, Algeria, Bestchoicesports.com.ng understands.

Assistant coaches, Finidi George and goalkeeper trainer, Ike Shorunmu will not be on the bench during the match following the refusal of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF to offer them contract for months after they were reportedly engaged.

Finidi George who is currently Enyimba International FC of Abs manager as well as Mr Shorunmu, it was gathered did not travel with the team to Algeria for the high profile encounter.

Both coaches are deputies to Jose Peseiro who was appointed as Super Eagles handler in May with Finidi named the Portuguese first assistant.

Salisu Yusuf serves as the second assistant as well as head coach of the CHAN and U-23 National Teams.

Shorunmu was named the goalkeepers trainer, with Usman Abdallah third assistant, while Eboboritse Uwejamomere is the match analyst.

Punch reports that while Peseiro, 62, was offered a performance-based one-year contract and will reportedly earn $70,000 (N30m) monthly, Finidi and Shorunmu don’t know how much they will be paid, four months after they were ‘employed.’

It was gathered that the duo will not be on the bench when Nigeria take on Algeria for the 22nd time at the 40,000 Stade Olympique in Oran next Tuesday in an international friendly if they are not offered a contract and repaid their outstanding flight fares.

“The team traveled out of Nigeria for the game against Algeria last Sunday without Finidi and Shorunmu,” a top NFF official told Punch

“They have not been offered contracts by the NFF since they were appointed in May. It has been a while that the duo has been demanding their contract papers from the NFF but they are yet to get one.

“They were called to report to camp in Abuja last week but they refused to show up because they were yet to be refunded their flight tickets to and fro by the federation since they were appointed.

“Finidi told the NFF that he can’t leave a job with a valid contract for an assignment he does not have a deal.”

But our correspondent was informed by the media officer of the Eagles, Babafemi Raji, that Finidi did not join up with the Eagles due to personal ‘pressing’ issues.

“Both coaches are not here (Constantine, Algeria) with us because of some pressing issues,” Raji confirmed

“Finidi recently buried his immediate elder sister and that’s part of the reason he is not here with us at the moment.”

When our correspondent reached Shorunmu to ask if he had a valid contract with the NFF, the former Besiktas keeper declined to comment, stating that’s it personal to him.

“We have a game against Algeria and that is the main issue now. On my contract, the NFF is in the best position to answer that.”

The Secretary General of the NFF, Mohammed Sanusi, also refused to react when quizzed, insisting that the NFF Technical Department was in the best position to give an adequate response.

“I really don’t know about that, maybe you should ask any member of the Technical Committee on this. Maybe they can have an appropriate answer for your questions.”

However, a source from Algeria confirmed to Best Choice Sports that Ike Shorunmu has arrived the city fir the match. Effort to speak with the coach was unsuccessful as his phone number could not be reached.

The Nigeria Football Federation has come under immense scrutiny recently with the federation currently being preoccupied with it’s proposed September 30 election. However, a Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered that the election should be put on hold until cases relating to it are dispensed with.