Saturday, 11 May 2024

NFF board looks set to reappoint Stephen Keshi as Super Eagles head coach

NIGERIAN Football Federation (NFF) officials are considering offering embattled Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi a new contract in a bid to solve the current headache they face in which the team is managerless.

 Since Nigeria failed to qualify for the just-concluded African Nations Cup, the Super Eagles have been without a substantive manager. Keshi’s contract with the NFF lapsed after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil but he was brought back the by sports minister Tammy Danagogo to guide the Super Eagles through the 2015 Nations Cup qualifiers on an interim basis.

 However, after a string of poor results, the NFF announced they were parting ways with the coach, on a day he led the team to an unconvincing 3-1 victory over Sudan in Abuja. Following the direct intervention from the presidency though, Keshi was brought back and eventually led the team to a disastrous end as the Eagles failed to qualify for the Nations Cup.

 Despite this, the NFFs technical and development committee will meet in Abuja today to seal Keshi's reappointment with a new contract.

Committee vice chairman of Alhaji Ahmed Yusuf Fresh, confirmed that the committee had a lot of issues to address but top on the agenda is the case of the senior national team handler. It is believed that the NFF is being put under pressure from above to reappoint Keshi even though the federation would rather look for a new coach.

 Alhaji Fresh added: “We are having a meeting of the technical committee today and many far reaching decisions affecting Nigerian football will be taken. We will talk about the contract renewal for Stephen Keshi and that of his assistants among other things. 

"We are not under pressure from any quarters. Keshi has done well for the country and any decision taken would be informed by what has transpired in the past, as Keshi would be judged on merit.”

 Analysts believe that if he is reappointed, Keshi may be uncontrollable as he would become more powerful than his employers. This was evident in his rejection of the backroom staff appointed by the NFF before his temporary return to the team.


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