Sports
AFCON Qualifiers: Keshi Back To Eagles Temporarily
Stephen Keshi will return as Nigeria coach for next month’s Nations Cup qualifiers, only days after appearing to rule himself out of the job.
Keshi’s contract expired on 30 June and he said last week he had given up on negotiations over a new deal.
But he has now “temporarily abandoned” his decision to walk away.
“I want to respect the wishes of Nigerians and the appeal by the Sports Minister to handle the team at least for the two games,” he said.
“The need to answer the patriotic call and respect the wishes of Nigerians informed my coming for the key games.
“I’m going to see out these two games and we’ll hopefully then sit down and talk about a new contract”
“We worked so hard to win the Nations Cup in South Africa, I think we should do all that we can to defend it in Morocco next year,” he added on Monday.
Talks over a new contract have been ongoing since July but have been held up by problems within the federation, including the sacking and the FIFA-ordered reinstatement of the governing body’s president Aminu Maigari.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is understood to have offered Keshi a new four-year deal and the same N5 million-a-month salary he was paid in his first stint as manager, while the coach has asked for an increase.
With the NFF board divided (two rival factions locked in a bitter leadership row), Keshi says negotiations over a new deal will have to wait until after the game against Congo on 6 September and South Africa four days later.
“They want me to carry on but nothing has been finalised, but officials, fans and the players want me to stay.”
He added: “I’m going to see out these two games and we’ll hopefully then sit down and talk about a new contract, if everything can be agreed.
Despite a bitter leadership crisis currently rocking the country’s football authority, Nigeria has already named a 23-man squad for their upcoming qualifiers.
The defending champions will also face Sudan in Group A with the top two advancing to January’s finals in Morocco.
Enyimba’s Mfon Udoh scored against Taraba United on Sunday to steer the people’s Elephant to third spot on the log.
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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