Media reports alleged interference in the work of the Super Eagles coach
The Nigeria Football Federation president, Aminu Maigari, has given assurance that neither the federation as a corporate body nor top officials as individuals are putting any undue pressure on Super Eagles’ Head Coach, Stephen Keshi.
Media reports recently alleged interference in Keshi’s work, especially with regards to player selection for World Cup and Nations Cup qualifying matches.
Maigari decried the insinuations on Wednesday, saying that the NFF can only support Keshi and the team at this very crucial period when the team is preparing for a rash of critical matches.
“The only thing NFF as a Federation can do at this period is to give Keshi and the entire team all the necessary support,” he said.
“That is what we are doing. I have not called for any inquisition into what he is doing or how he picked players for the upcoming matches, and I can assure you that nobody is doing anything like that.
“Of course, there is corporate desire and ambition for the Super Eagles to do well in the matches against Namibia, Malawi and Rwanda. But we are not coaches and there is a limit to the moves that we can make.”
Maigari noted that Keshi is someone they signed a contract with to deliver the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2013 African Cup of Nations tickets, “and we have a responsibility to allow him to do the job the way he knows best and simply give him all the support that is necessary and germane”.
Keshi, who captained the Eagles for 11 years, leading Nigeria to her first FIFA World Cup finals in 1994, signed a four-year agreement with the Nigeria Football Federation in November 2011, with the understanding that he would qualify the team for the 2013 African Cup of Nations and the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.
The Eagles have, under Keshi, played a total of seven matches, winning two, drawing three and losing two, including last week’s international friendly away to Peru in Lima.
On Sunday, at the U. J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar, the Super Eagles will host Brave Warriors of Namibia in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, African Series Day One
