Keshi sacked as Super Eagles coach

Stephen Keshi's turbulent spell in charge of Nigeria has come to an end after he was sacked by the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF).


The NFF made the announcement on Saturday amid reports Keshi applied for the vacant Ivory Coast coaching job.

A statement on the NFF's official website read: "Having thoroughly reviewed the reports/findings of the NFF Disciplinary Committee and NFF Technical and Development Committee, as well as having reviewed the actions and inactions of Mr. Stephen Keshi, in the performance of his duties as Super Eagles' head coach, which we found to lack the required commitment to achieve the Federation's objectives as set out in the coach's employment contract.

"To this end and pursuant to the provisions of Clause 4.3 of the Employment Contract between Mr. Stephen Keshi and the NFF [the contract] and the various clauses therein, the Nigeria Football Federation has decided to exercise its option to summarily terminate the employment contract of Mr. Stephen Keshi with the Federation with immediate effect."

It is not the first time the NFF and Keshi, who signed a two-year deal in April, have parted ways.
After being appointed in 2011, Keshi resigned two years later but quickly reversed that decision, before his contract expired after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Keshi continued in his role on a match-by-match basis for the 2015 AFCON qualifying campaign, though he was replaced by Shaibu Amodu in October - only to be reinstated two weeks later.

The 53-year-old was unable to lead Nigeria to the finals in Equatorial Guinea, however, with Daniel Amokachi taking over on an interim basis after that failure, before Keshi returned to the hot seat in April.

"In the interim, the Super Eagles' team affairs will be jointly managed by assistant coach, Salisu Yusuf and the Technical Directorate of the NFF headed by coach Shaibu Amodu, until the Federation names in due course a new head coach, who, along with the NFF will chart a new direction for the Super Eagles to ensure credible participation in international competitions and assist in building a sustainable football culture for the country," said vice-president Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi.