The League Management Company, LMC has directed that a minute silence should be observed before the kick-off of Match Day 21 fixtures of Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) during which all players are to wear black armbands by all players in honour of late Stephen Okechukwu Keshi, the former Super Eagles captain and Coach who passed on in the early hours of Wednesday.
The LMC described the death of Keshi as a huge loss to African football.
A statement by the LMC described Keshi as “a pathfinder, courageous athlete who remains one of the inspirational stories for young Nigerian and indeed African players’.
The LMC described the late Keshi as one of the players that put the shine on the football league in Nigeria while it was still in amateur stages.
“The exploits of Keshi and his team mates at New Nigerian Bank in the 1980’s registered Nigeria as a club football power house after the achievements of IICC Shooting Stars and Rangers International in the 1970’s”.
“As a player and later, captain of the national team for over a decade, Keshi demonstrated dedication and love for father land. He was a team builder and leader whose influence on younger players was the driving spirit behind the achievements at the Nations Cup in Tunisia and a world cup outing that made the world take notice of the Super Eagles”.
“As the Coach of the Super Eagles, Keshi invested gave a boost to the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) by tremendous confidence in players from the league whom he took to the Nations Cup in South Africa in 2013 which Nigeria won. His decision showcased the abundant talents that are found in the NPFL and it was one of the biggest endorsements for our players”.
The LMC said that there is no honour that is too much to be done to Keshi considering also his achievements as the coach of the Super Eagles during which he led Nigeria to a third Nations Cup victory.
“We want to honour Keshi today as a deserving hero of the league and Nigerian football during our Match Day 21 fixtures with a minute silence before kick-off and the wearing of black armbands by all players”.
Also, Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), FCT chapter has described the shocking demise of former Super Eagles Captain and Coach as ‘devastating’ and a heavy blow to Nigerian Sports particularly football.
In a statement issued in Abuja, Chairman Comrade Kayode Adeniyi recalled with nostalgia the various contributions the former international footballer who later became the first African to qualify an African country, Togo to World Cup, and prayed to God for the repose of his soul.
“I really don’t know what to say. I have been sad since I heard of Keshi’s death. You see Keshi was a great and kind man when he was alive. He left good legacies. People like him are worthy of emulation. Personally, I’m yet to come to terms that he is no more alive.
“He is a man Nigerians won’t forget in a hurry. I think government should do everything possible to immortalize him. Essentially, I pray that he will continue to rest in the bossom of the Lord.”
Keshi, the only Nigerian coach to have won the Africa Cup of Nations, achieved a rare feat in 2013 by becoming only the second person to win the trophy both as a player and a coach.
The only other person to have achieved the feat is Egypt’s Mahmoud El-Gohary.
Keshi, a product of St. Finbarr’s College, Akoka, Lagos, started his playing career at a very young age at the Africa Continental Bank Football Club of Lagos. He later played for New Nigerian Bank of Benin-City where they broke the jinx to win the first WAFU Cup. He was coached by the legendary Willie Bazuaye.
From there, he left for Stade d’Abidjan in Cote d’ivoire. He had another brief stint in Africa Sports before heading to Belgium to play for Lokeren and Anderlecht. He left for France to play for RC Strasbourg towards the twilight of his career as a player. He had stints in a host of other clubs.
He represented Nigeria from 1982, at age 20, till 1994, most of the time captaining the Super Eagles and scoring vital goals from his position as a central defender.
He however, achieved his dream to manage a team at the World Cup when he coached the Super Eagles side to the tournament in 2014.
He is the fifth member of the glorious 1994 Super Eagles team to die, after Uche Okafor, Thompson Oliha, Rashidi Yekini and Wilfred Agbonavbare.
