Keshi Cleared For SuperSport Job

Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has okayed Super Eagles’ head coach, Stephen Keshi, to work as a TV pundit at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.

Keshi’s assistant, Dan Amokachi, has also been given the nod to work as an analyst during the Africa Cup of Nations.

The 2012 Nations Cup kicks off on 21 January in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, and both men will work as analysts for SuperSport.

Chairman of the NFF Technical Sub-committee, Chris Green, told SuperSport.com that Amokachi and Keshi have got “the blessing” of the federation to work as TV pundits for SuperSport during the Afcon.

“Yes, the NFF has okayed Stephen Keshi and Daniel Amokachi. They have the blessing of the federation to work as pundits,” confirmed Green.

The NFF Executive Committee member explained that the two coaches were cleared for the job after they convinced the federation on why they needed to work as pundits during the Africa Cup of Nations.

He added that Amokachi and Keshi are expected to return to the country from February 6 in order to continue preparation for the 2013 Afcon qualifying first leg against Rwanda in Kigali on February 29.

“Keshi and Amokachi will have the chance to watch the 16 teams at the Africa Cup of Nations and analyse them. They will also listen to other people analyse them. So we believe this will be an advantage to them as we may likely meet any of the 16 sides during the 2013 Nations Cup qualifiers.

“But we expect them to return to their duty posts from 6 February so that they can prepare the national team for the game against Rwanda, which is a priority now,” said Green.

The pundit job had caused a furore in Nigeria following the Super Eagles’ failure to qualify for the Afcon for the first time in 25 years.