Stephen Keshi
It appears that all has not been heard concerning the Nigeria Football Federation and the timeless search for the man to coach the Super Eagles. An NFF report early this week had suggested that Stephen Keshi would have his contract renewed as the Nigeria coach on Friday but a check on Thursday revealed that the contract signing may not hold exactly as scheduled.
A top official of the Federation said that he was only sure that a coach would be named in Abuja but could not say with certainty whether or not it would be Keshi.
“What I know is that a coach for the national team will be announced. I cannot say exactly who is to be signed. What is certain is that a coach for the Eagles will be named,” he said.
But if the plan goes as indicated on Tuesday, the NFF will announce Keshi as the team’s coach. The NFF and the former Nigeria captain have been in talks over a new contract, with the body offering him a two-year contract extension in March. The contract will see Keshi remain on the N5m monthly salary he earned in his previous contract, but with the clauses in the new package, the coach will now report directly to the NFF technical director and the NFF technical study group.
It is not clear if Keshi will be making the return with his former teammate and assistant Daniel Amokachi. The former Everton striker has been Keshi’s first assistant since November 2011 when he first signed as the Eagles manager.
The NFF Technical Committee chairman, Mr. Felix Anyasi-Agwu, told our correspondent on Thursday that he could speak on the matter.
He said, “I am definitely not in the best position to know whether Amokachi will be in or not. As you know, it is not usually our style to decide on that but the important thing is for us to settle the issue of who will coach the team.”
A close associate of Amokachi told our correspondent that the situation in Abuja is a bit dicey.
“I understand Keshi is already in Abuja to hold discussions as the entire outlook of things changed with the national elections. I won’t be surprised if a different coach is named going by the snippets from the NFF.
“And as a matter of fact a lot of other things may change following the result of that presidential elections,” he said.
The Eagles will start the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in June, with Nigeria in the same group as Egypt, Tanzania and Chad.
Keshi won the African cup as Nigeria coach in 2013 but failed to qualify the team for the 2015 edition which was held in Equatorial Guinea.
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