After much
wrangling, the dust seems to have settled as Super Eagles Coach Stephen
Okechukwu Keshi show readiness to accept Nigeria Football Federation’s
final offer of N7million monthly salary plus an official house in Abuja
and a car. Keshi had complained that his previous contract also
involved a car but that was never fulfilled even though it was part of
the deal when he was in charge of the national teams of Togo and Mali as
coach.
The former Eagles skipper’s contract lapsed at the end of the 2014
World Cup in Brazil and was not offered an extension due to his
signaling that he seeks new coaching challenge elsewhere as a crisis
engulfed the NFF immediately after Nigeria’s ouster from the world cup.
The three-man committee set up by the NFF to negotiate with the Keshi
submitted their report yesterday, and any moment from now, NFF's Acting
President, Mike Umeh, will convene a meeting of the NFF Emergency
Committee to approve the details of Keshi’s re–engagement as Super
Eagles Coach for another four years.
Keshi’s new deal is still a bit below the N8.5million monthly
pocketed by former Swedish Coach Lars Lagerback (Who was Super Eagles
last foreign coach). Lagerback led the Super Eagles to Nigeria’s worst
ever performance in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
It will be an immense turnaround after Keshi gave a serious hint that
he was done with the Eagles job in his first interview during the World
Cup in Brasilia just after the France defeated Nigeria. When asked if
he has resigned; he answered 'yes", saying: "Yes. I have done my bit. I
am tired of all the intrigues and backbiting and insinuations I get."
His relationship with the Nigeria Football Federation hasn’t been
cozy due to a perceived lack of respect for indigenous coaches by
Nigerian soccer administrators.
The former Anderlecht player was highly tipped as the next South
African coach before SAFA on Saturday named Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba as
head coach of the Bafana Bafana.
Sahara Reporters.
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